.,j\|  of  Pr// 


^  NOV  CO  1889    < 


_-c- 


B\r42Tr^S6SS   1889 
Spurgeon,    C.    H.    1834-1892 
second    series    of    lectures 
my    students 


Lectures  to  my  Students 


SELECTION  FROM  ADDRESSES  DELIVERED    TO 

THE  STUDENTS  OF  THE  PASTORS'  COLLEGE, 

METROPOLITAN  TABERNACLE,  LONDON 


HEV.  c.  H.  sFunaEoisr 

President 


NEW    YORK 

ROBERT  CARTER  &  BROTHERS 

530   Hroadway 


■v 


COJ^TEJSTTS. 


LECTURE  I. 

FAQH 

The  Minister's  Self- watch 11 

LECTURE  IL 
The  Call  to  the  Ministry 35 

LECTURE  in. 
The  Preacher's  Private  Prayer G6 

LECTURE  IV. 
Our  Public  Prayer 81 

LECTURE  V. 
Sermons — their  Matter 113 

LECTURE  VL 
On  the  Choice  of  a  Text 130 

LECTURE  Vn. 
Oq  Spiritualizing 156 

LECTURE  VIII. 
On  the  Voice 178 


4  CONTENTS. 

LECTURE  IX. 

PAOB 

Attention 205 

LECTURE  X. 
Tbe  Faculty  of  Impromptu  Speech 227 

LECTURE  XL 
TLe  Minister's  Fainting  Fits 249 

LECTURE  XIL 
Tlie  Minister's  Ordinary  Conversation 268 

LECTURE  XIIL 
To  Workers  witli  Slender  Apparatus 282 


INTRODUCTION  AND  APOLOGY. 


In  reply  to  many  requests  from  tliosc  ministers  wlic 
m  their  student  days  listened  to  my  lectures,  I  submit  a 
selection  to  the  press.  This,  however,  I  cannot  do  with- 
out an  apology,  for  these  addresses  were  not  originally 
prepared  for  the  public  eye,  and  are  scarcely  presentable 
for  criticism. 

My  College  lectures  are  colloquial,  familiar,  full  of 
anecdote,  and  often  humorous  :  they  are  purposely  made 
so,  to  suit  the  occasion.  At  the  end  of  the  week  I  meet 
the  students,  and  find  them  weary  Avith  sterner  studies, 
and  I  judge  it  best  to  be  as  lively  and  interesting  in  my 
prelections  as  I  well  can  be.  They  have  had  their  fill  of 
classics,  mathematics,  and  divinity,  and  are  only  in  a 
condition  to  receive  something  which  will  attract  and 
secure  their  attention,  and  fire  their  hearts.  Our  rever- 
end tutor,  Mr.  Kogers,  compares  my  Friday  work  to  the 
sharpening  of  the  pin  :  the  fashioning  of  the  head,  the 
straightening,  the  laying  on  of  the  metal  and  the  polishing 
have  been  done  during  the  week,  and  then  the  process 
concludes  with  an  effort  to  give  point  and  sharpness.  To 
succeed  in  this  the  lecturer  must  not  be  dull  himself, 
nor  demand  any  great  effort  from  his  audience. 

I  am  as  much  at  home  with  my  young  brethren  as  in 
the  bosom  of  my  family,  and  therefore  speak  without 
restraint.     Generous  minds  will  take  this  into  account 


6  IIS'TRODUCTION   AND   APOLOGY. 

ill  reading  these  lectures,  and  I  shall  hope  that  all  who 
favor  me  with  their  criticisms  will  be  of  that  noble  order. 

Possibly  caustic  remarks  may  be  made  ujion  my  fre- 
quent references  to  myself,  my  own  methods  of  procedure, 
and  personal  reminiscences.  These  also  were  intentional. 
I  have  purposely  given  an  almost  autobiographical  tinge 
to  the  whole,  because  my  own  experience,  such  as  it  is, 
is  the  most  original  contribution  which  I  can  offer,  and, 
4«id  with,  my  oion  students,  quite  as  weighty  as  any  othei 
within  my  reach.  It  would  have  been  impossible  for  me 
to  quote  the  experiences  of  other  men  if  they  had  not 
been  bold  enough  to  record  them,  and  I  make  an  honest 
attempt  to  acknowledge  my  debt  to  my  greater  prede- 
cessors by  writing  down  my  own.  Whether  this  arises 
from  egotism  or  not,  each  reader  shall  decide  according 
to  the  sweetness  or  acidity  of  his  own  disposition.  A 
father  is  excused  when  he  tells  his  sons  his  own  life-story 
and  finds  it  the  readiest  Avay  to  enforce  his  maxims ;  the 
old  soldier  is  forgiven  when  he  "  shoulders  his  crutch, 
and  shows  how  fields  were  won  ;"  I  beg  that  the  license 
which  tolerates  these  may,  on  this  occasion,  be  extended 
to  me. 

It  would  have  saved  me  much  labor  had  I  reserved 
these  lectures  for  re-delivery  to  new  companies  of  fresh- 
men, and  I  am  conscious  of  no  motive  in  printing  them 
but  that  of  desiring  to  keep  my  counsels  alive  in  the 
memories  of  those  who  heard  them  years  ago,  and  im- 
l)ressing  them  upon  others  who  dwell  beyond  the  pre- 
oincts  of  our  class-room.  The  age  has  become  intensely 
practical,  and  needs  a  ministry  not  only  orthodox  and 
spiritual,  but  also  natural  in  utterance,  and  practically 
shrewd.  Ofldcialism  is  sick  unto  death  ;  life  is  the  true 
heir  to  success,  and  is  coming  to  its  heritage.  Manner- 
isms, pomposities,  and  proprieties,  once  so  potent  in  the 


INTRODUCTION   AND   APOLOGY.  7 

religions  world,  are  becoming  as  obsolete  in  the  reverence 
of  men  as  those  gods  of  high  Olympus  for  whom  in  past 
ages  poets  tuned  their  lyres,  and  sculptors  quickened 
marble  into  beauty.  Truth  and  life  must  conquer,  and 
their  victory  is  nearest  when  they  cease  to  be  encumbered 
with  the  grave-clothes  of  conventionalism  and  pretence. 
It  i&  delicious  to  put  one's  foot  through  the  lath  and 
plaster  of  old  affectations,  to  make  room  for  the  granite 
walls  of  reality.  This  has  been  a  main  design  with  me, 
and  may  God  send  success  to  the  effort. 

The  solemn  work  with  which  the  Christian  ministry 
concerns  itself  demands  a  man's  all,  and  that  all  at  its 
best.  To  engage  in  it  half-heartedly  is  an  insult  to  God 
and  man.  Slumber  must  forsake  our  eyelids  sooner  than 
men  shall  be  allowed  to  perish.  Yet  we  are  all  prone  to 
sleep  as  do  others,  and  students,  among  the  rest,  are  apt 
to  act  the  part  of  the  foolish  virgins  ;  therefore  have  I 
sought  to  speak  out  my  whole  soul,  in  the  hope  that  I 
might  not  create  or  foster  dulness  in  others.  May  He  in 
whose  hand  are  the  churches  and  their  pastors  bless  these 
words  to  younger  brethren  in  the  ministry,  and  if  so,  I 
shall  count  it  more  than  a  full  reward,  and  shall  grate- 
fully praise  the  Lord. 

Should  this  publication  succeed,  I  hope  very  soon  to 
issue  in  similar  form  a  work  upon  Commenting,  contain- 
ing a  full  catalogue  of  Commentaries,  and  also  a  second 
set  of  lectures.  I  shall  be  obliged  by  any  assistance 
rendered  to  the  sale,  for  the  price  is  unremunerative,  and 
persons  interested  in  our  subjects  are  not  numei"0U3 
enough  to  secure  a  very  large  circulation  ;  hence  it  is 
only  by  the  kind  aid  of  all  appreciating  friends  that  I 
filiall  be  able  to  publish  the  rest  of  the  contemplated  series. 

The  Pastors'  College  was  commenced  upon  a  very 
small  scale  in  the  year  I80G.     Since  that  date  it  has  ed- 


8  •  INTRODUCTION   AND   APOLOGY. 

iicated  and  sent  forth  into  the  ministry  not  less  than  three 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  of  whom,  after  deductions  by 
death  and  other  causes,  about  three  hundred  remain  in 
tlie  Baptist  denomination,  preaching  the  gospel  of  Jesua 
Christ.  In  addition  to  this,  a  far  larger  number  of  men 
I'eceive  gratuitous  education  in  the  evening,  sucli  as  may 
fit  them  to  be  city  missionaries,  colporteurs,  or  useful 
private  Christians. 

The  institution  receives  no  man  in  order  to  make  him 
a  preacher,  but  it  is  established  to  help  in  the  further 
education  of  brethren  who  have  been  preaching  with  some 
measure  of  success  for  two  years  at  the  least.  Many  men 
of  earnest  spirit  and  established  Christian  character  are 
hindered  in  their  efforts  to  do  good  by  the  slenderness  of 
their  knowledge.  Conscious  of  their  own  defects,  they 
endeavor  to  improve  themselves,  but  the  absence  of  a 
guide,  their  need  of  books,  and  their  scanty  time,  all  pre- 
vent their  making  progress.  These  are  the  men  whom 
the  Pastors'  College  welcomes.  Men  in  whom  piety,  zeal, 
and  the  indwelling  Spirit  are  to  be  found,  need  not  fear 
refusal  at  our  doors  on  account  of  poverty,  if  they  pos- 
sess those  gifts  of  utterance  which  are  essential  to  the 
preacher. 

The  College  aims  at  training  preachers  rather  than 
scholars.  To  develop  the  faculty  of  ready  speech,  to  help 
them  to  understand  the  word  of  God,  and  to  foster  the 
spirit  of  consecration,  courage,  and  confidence  in  God, 
are  objects  so  important  that  we  j)ut  all  other  matters 
into  a  secondary  j^osition.  If  a  student  should  learn  a 
tliousand  things,  and  yet  fail  to  preach  the  gospel  accept- 
ably, his  College  course  Avill  liave  missed  its  true  design. 
Sliould  the  pursuit  of  literary  prizes  and  tlie  ambition 
for  classical  honors  so  occupy  his  mind  as  to  divert  his 
attention  from  his  life  work,  they  are  perilous  rather  than 


INTEODUCTION   AXD   APOLOGY.  9 

beneficial.     To  be  wise  to  wiu  souls  is  the  wisdom  miuis- 
ters  should  possess. 

In  the  Pastors'  College  definite  doctrines  are  held  and 
taught.  AVe  hold  the  doctrines  of  grai  9  and  the  old 
ortliodox  faith,  and  have  no  sympathy  with  the  countless 
theological  novelties  of  the  present  day,  which  are  novel- 
ties only  in  outward  form  :  in  substance  they  are  repeti- 
tions of  errors  exploded  long  ago.  Our  standing  in 
doctrinal  matters  is  well  known,  and  we  make  no  profes- 
sion of  latitudinarian  charity,  yet  we  find  no  failure  in 
the  number  of  earnest  spirits  who  rally  to  our  standard, 
believing  that  in  truth  alone  can  true  freedom  be  found. 

The  support  of  the  College  is  derived  from  the  free- 
will offerings  of  the  Lord's  people.  We  have  no  roll  of 
Rubscribers,  although  many  friends  send  us  aid  at  regular 
intervals.  Our  confidence  is  that  God  wi-ll  supply  all  our 
needs,  and  he  has  always  done  so  hitherto.  The  Presi- 
dent has  never  derived  a  farthing  from  the  work  for 
himself  in  any  shape,  but  on  the  contrary  delights  to  give 
to  the  work  all  that  he  can,  both  of  money  and  gratis 
service  ;  and  therefore  he  more  confidently  appeals  to 
others  to  assist  him  in  maintaining  the  Institution.  No 
work  can  possibly  confer  a  greater  benefit  upon  mankind 
than  the  training  of  ministers  whom  God  has  chosen,  for 
around  them  sj)ring  up  churches,  schools,  and  all  the 
agencies  of  religion  and  philanthropy.  As  we  are  com- 
manded to  jjray  for  laborers  in  the  Lord's  harvest,  so 
are  we  bound  to  prove  the  honesty  of  our  prayers  by  our 
actions. 

At  least  £100  is  required  every  week  to  carry  on  the 
work 

C.  H.  Spurgeon. 

NlQHTINaALE  LANE,  CLAPHAM,  SURREY. 


LECTURE  I. 
THE  MINISTER'S  SELF-WATCH. 

'  Take  heed  unto  thyself,  and  unto  the  doctrine."— I.  Timothy  Iv.  16. 

Every  workman  knows  the  necessity  of  keeping  liia 
tools  in  a  good  state  of  repair,  for  "if  the  iron  be  blunt, 
and  he  do  not  whet  the  edge,  then  must  he  put  to  more 
strength."  If  the  workman  lose  the  edge  from  his  adze, 
he  knows  that  there  will  be  a  greater  draft  upon  his 
energies,  or  his  work  will  be  badly  done.  Michael  Angelo, 
the  elect  of  the  fine  arts,  understood  so  well  the  impor- 
lance  of  his  tools,  that  he  always  made  his  own  brushes 
Avith  his  own  hands,  and  in  this  he  gives  us  an  illustration 
of  the  God  of  grace,  who  with  special  care  fashions  for 
himself  all  true  ministers.  It  is  true  that  the  Lord,  like 
Quintin  ^latsys  in  the  story  of  the  Antwerp  well-cover, 
can  work  with  the  faultiest  kind  of  instrumentality,  as 
he  does  when  he  occasionally  makes  very  foolish  preach- 
ing to  be  useful  in  conversion  ;  and  he  can  even  work 
without  agents,  as  he  does  when  he  saves  men  without  a 
preacher  at  all,  applying  the  word  directly  by  his  Holy 
Spirit ;  but  Ave  cannot  regard  God's  absolutely  sovereign 
acts  as  a  rule  for  our  action.  He  may,  in  his  absolute- 
ness, do  as  pleases  him  best,  but  we  must  act  as  his  plainer 
dispensations  instruct  us  ;  and  one  of  the  facts  Avhich  is 
clear  enough  is  this,  that  the  Lord  usually  adapts  means 
to  ends,  from  which  the  plain  lesson  is,  that  we  shall  be 


13  LECTURES  TO  MY   STUDENTS. 

likely  to  accomplish  most  when  we  are  in  the  best  spirit- 
ual condition  ;  or  in  other  words,  we  shall  usually  do  our 
Lord's  work  best  when  our  gifts  and  graces  are  in  good 
order,  and  we  shall  do  worst  when  they  are  most  out  of 
trim.  This  is  a  practical  truth  for  our  guidance  ;  when 
the  Lord  makes  excej^tions,  they  do  but  prove  the  rule. 

We  are,  in  a  certain  sense.,  our  own  tools,  and  there- 
fore must  keep  ourselves  in  order.  If  I  want  to  preach 
the  gospel,  I  can  only  use  my  own  voice ;  therefore  I 
must  train  my  vocal  powers.  I  can  only  think  with  my 
own  brains,  and  feel  with  my  own  heart,  and  therefore  I 
must  cultivate  my  intellectual  and  emotional  faculties. 
I  can  only  weep  and  agonize  for  souls  in  my  own  renewed 
nature,  therefore  must  I  watchfully  maintain  the  tender- 
ness which  was  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  will  be  in  vain  for 
me  to  stock  my  library,  or  organize  societies,  or  project 
schemes,  if  I  neglect  the  culture  of  myself ;  for  books, 
and  agencies,  and  systems,  are  only  remotely  the  instru- 
ments of  my  holy  calling  ;  my  own  spirit,  soul,  and  body, 
are  my  nearest  machinery  for  sacred  service  ;  my  spirit- 
ual faculties,  and  my  inner  life,  are  my  battle-axe  and 
weapons  of  war.  M'Cheyne,  writing  to  a  ministerial 
friend,  who  was  travelling  with  a  vicAV  to  perfecting 
himself  in  the  German  tongue,  used  language  identical 
with  our  own  :  ''I  know  you  will  apply  hard  to  German, 
but  do  not  forget  the  culture  of  the  inner  man — I  mean  of 
the  heart.  How  diligently  the  cavalry  officer  keeps  his 
sabre  clean  and  sharp  ;  every  stain  he  rubs  off  with  the 
greatest  care.  Eemember  you  are  God's  sword,  his  iustru 
ment — I  trust,  a  chosen  vessel  unto  him  to  bear  his  name. 
In  great  measure,  according  to  the  purity  and  perfection  of 
the  instrument,  will  be  the  success.  It  is  not  great  talents 
God  blesses,  so  much  as  likeness  to  Jesus.  A  holy  min- 
ister is  an  awful  weapon  in  the  hand  of  God." 


THE  minister's  SELF- WATCH.  13 

For  the  herald  of  the  gospel  to  be  spiritually  out  of 
order  in  his  own  proper  person  is,  both  to  himself  and  to 
his  work,  a  most  serious  calamity  ;  and  yet,  my  brethren, 
how  easily  is  such  an  evil  produced,  and  with  what 
watchfulness  must  it  be  guarded  against  !  Travelling 
one  day  by  express  from  Perth  to  Edinburgh,  on  a  sudden 
we  came  to  a  dead  stop,  because  a  small  screw  in  one  of 
the  engines — every  railway  locomotive  consisting  virtually 
of  two  engines — had  been  broken,  and  when  we  started 
again  we  were  obliged  to  crawl  along  with  one  piston-rod 
at  work  instead  of  two.  Only  a  small  screw  was  gone,  if 
that  had  been  right  the  train  would  have  rushed  along 
its  iron  road  ;  but  the  absence  of  that  insignificant  piece 
of  iron  disarranged  the  whole.  A  train  is  said  to  have 
been  stopped  on  one  of  the  United  States'  railways  by 
flies  in  the  grease-boxes  of  the  carriage  wheels.  The  anal- 
gy  is  perfect ;  a  man,  in  all  other  respects  fitted  to  be 
useful,  may  by  some  small  defect  be  exceedingly  hindered, 
or  even  rendered  utterly  useless.  Such  a  result  is  all  the 
more  grievous,  because  it  is  associated  Avith  the  gospel, 
which  in  the  highest  sense  is  adapted  to  effect  the  grandest 
results.  It  is  a  terrible  thing  when  the  healing  balm 
loses  its  efficacy  through  the  blunderer  who  administers 
it.  You  all  know  the  injurious  effects  frequently  pro- 
duced upon  water  flowing  along  leaden  pipes  ;  even  so 
the  gospel  itself,  in  flowing  through  men  who  are  spirit- 
ually unhealthy,  may  be  debased  until  it  grows  injurioui 
to  their  hearers.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  Calviniscic 
doctrine  becomes  most  evil  teaching  when  it  is  set  forth 
by  men  of  ungodly  lives,  and  exhibited  as  if  it  were  a 
cloak  for  licentiousness  ;  and  Arminianism,  on  the  other 
hand,  with  its  wide  sweep  of  the  offer  of  mercy,  may  do 
most  serious  damage  to  the  souls  of  men,  if  the  careless 
tone  of  the  preacher  leads  his  hearers  to  believe  that  tliey 


14  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

ca7i  repent  Avhenever  they  please  ;  and  that,  therefore,  no 
urofency  surrounds  the  gospel  message.  Moreover,  when 
a  preacher  is  poor  in  grace,  any  lasting  good  which  may 
be  the  result  of  his  ministry,  will  usually  be  feeble  and 
utterly  out  of  proportion  with  what  might  have  been  ex- 
pected. Much  sowing  will  be  followed  by  little  reaping  ; 
the  interest  upon  the  talents  will  be  inappreciably  small. 
In  two  or  three  of  the  battles  which  were  lost  in  the  late 
American  war,  the  result  is  said  to  have  been  due  to  the 
bad  gunpowder  which  was  served  out  by  certain  "  shoddy" 
contractors  to  the  army,  so  that  the  due  effect  of  the 
cannonade  was  not  produced.  So  it  may'  be  with  us. 
We  may  miss  our  mark,  lose  our  end  and  aim,  and  waste 
our  time,  through  not  possessing  true  vital  force  within 
ourselves,  or  not  joossessing  it  in  such  a  degree  that  God 
could  consistently  bless  us.  Beware  of  being  "shoddy" 
preachers. 

It  should  be  one  of  oue  fiest  cares  that  we 
ourselves  be  saved  men. 

That  a  teacher  of  the  gospel  should  first  be  a  joartaker 
of  it,  is  a  simple  truth,  but  at  the  same  time  a  rule  of  tlie 
most  weighty  importance.  We  are  not  among  those  who 
accept  the  apostolical  succession  of  young  men  simply 
because  they  assume  it ;  if  their  college  experience  has 
been  rather  vivacious  than  spiritual,  in  their  honors  have 
been  connected  rather  with  athletic  exercises  than  with 
labors  for  Christ,  we  demand  evidence  of  another  kind 
than  they  arc  able  to  present  to  us.  No  amount  of  fees 
paid  to  learned  doctors,  and  no  amount  of  classics  received 
in  return,  appear  to  us  to  be  evidences  of  a  call  from 
above.  True  and  genuine  piety  is  necessary  as  the  first 
indispensable  requisite;  whatever  *'call"  a  man  may 


THE  minister's  SELF- WATCH.  )5 

pretend  to  have,  if  lie  has  not  been  called  to  holiness,  he 
certainly  has  not  been  called  to  the  ministry. 

"  First  be  trimmed  thyself,  and  then  adorn  thy  broth- 
er," say  the  rabbins.  ''The  hand,"  saith  Gregory 
"  that  means  to  make  another  clean,  must  not  itself  be 
dirty."  If  your  salt  be  unsavory  how  can  you  seasou 
others  ?  Conversion  is  a  sine  qua  non  in  a  minister. 
Ye  aspirants  to  our  pulpits,  "ye  must  be  born  again." 
Nor  is  the  possession  of  this  first  qualification  a  thing  to 
be  taken  for  gi-anted  by  any  man,  for  there  is  very  great 
possibility  of  our  being  mistaken  as  to  whether  we  are 
converted  or  not.  Believe  me,  it  is  no  child's  play  to 
"  make  3'our  calling  and  election  sure."  The  world  is 
full  of  counterfeits,  and  swarms  with  panderers  to  carnal 
self-conceit,  who  gather  around  a  minister  as  vultures 
around  a  carcass.  Our  own  hearts  are  deceitful,  so  that 
truth  lies  not  on  the  surface,  but  must  be  drawn  up  from 
the  deepest  well.  AVe  must  search  ourselves  very  anx- 
iously and  very  thoroughly,  lest  by  any  means  after  hav- 
ing preached  to  others  we  ourselves  should  be  castaways. 

How  horrible  to  be  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  and  yet 
to  be  unconverted  !  Let  each  man  here  whisper  to  hia 
own  inmost  soul,  "What  a  dreadful  thing  it  will  ho  for 
me  if  I  should  be  ignorant  of  the  power  of  the  truth 
which  I  am  preparing  to  proclaim  ! "  Unconverted  min- 
istry involves  the  most  unnatural  relationships.  A  grace- 
less pastor  is  a  blind  man  elected  to  a  professorship  of 
optics,  philosophizing  upon  light  and  vision,  discoursing 
upon  and  distinguishing  to  others  the  nice  shades  and 
delicate  blendings  of  the  prismatic  colors,  while  he  him- 
Bclf  is  absolutely  in  the  dark  !  He  is  a  dumb  man  ele- 
vated to  the  chair  of  music  ;  a  deaf  man  fluent  upon  sym- 
phonies and  harmonies  !  He  is  a  mole  professing  to  edu- 
cate eaglets  ;  a  limpet  elected  to  preside  over  angels.     To 


16  LECTURES  TO   MY   STrDEKTS. 

such  a  relationship  one  might  apply  the  most  absurd  and 
grotesque  metaphors,  except  that  the  subject  is  too 
solemn.  It  is  a  dreadful  position  for  a  man  to  stand  in 
for  he  has  undertaken  a  work  for  which  he  is  totally, 
wholly,  and  altogether  unqualified,  but  from  the  respon- 
sibilities of  which,  this  unfitness  will  not  screen  him, 
because  he  wilfully  incurred  them.  Whatever  his  natural 
gifts,  whatever  his  mental  powers  may  be,  he  is  utterly 
out  of  court  for  spiritual  work  if  he  has  no  spiritual  life  ; 
and  it  is  his  duty  to  cease  the  ministerial  ofiice  till  he 
has  received  this  first  and  simplest  of  qualifications  for  it. 

Unconverted  ministry  must  be  equally  dreadful  in 
another  resjiect.  If  the  man  has  no  commission,  what  a 
very  unliappy  position  for  him  to  occupy  !  "What  can 
he  see  in  the  experience  of  his  people  to  give  him  comfort  ? 
How  must  he  feel  when  he  hears  the  cry  of  penitents  ; 
or  listens  to  their  anxious  doubts  and  solemn  fears  ? 
He  must  be  astonished  to  think  that  his  words  should 
be  owned  to  that  end  !  The  word  of  an  unconverted 
man  may  be  blessed  to  the  conversion  of  souls,  since  the 
Lord,  while  he  disowns  the  man,  will  still  honor  his  own 
truth.  How  perplexed  such  a  man  must  be  when  he  is 
consulted  concerning  the  difficulties  of  mature  Christians  ! 
In  the  pathway  of  experience,  in  which  his  own  regen- 
erate hearers  are  led,  he  must  feel  himself  quite  at  a  loss. 
How  can  he  listen  to  their  death-bed  joys,  or  join  in  their 
rapturous  fellowships  around  the  table  of  their  Lord  ? 

In  many  instances  of  young  men  put  to  a  trade  which 
they  cannot  endure,  they  have  run  away  to  sea  sooner  than 
follow  irksome  business  ;  but  where  shall  that  man  flee 
who  is  apprenticed  for  life  to  this  holy  calling,  and  yet 
is  a  total  stranger  to  the  j^ower  of  godliness  ?  How  can 
he  daily  bid  men  come  to  C'hrist,  while  he  himself  is  a 
stranger  to  his  dying  love  ?     0  sirs,  surely  this  must  be 


THE  minister's   SELF- WATCH.  17 

perpetual  slavery.     Such  a  man  must  liatc  tlie  sight  of  a 
pulpit  as  much  as  a  galley-slave  hates  the  oar. 

And  ]ioio  iinserviceable  such  a  man  must  be.  lie 
has  to  guide  travellers  along  a  road  which  he  has  never 
trodden,  to  navigate  a  vessel  along  a  coast  of  which  he 
knows  none  of  the  landmarks  !  He  is  called  to  instruct 
others,  being  himself  a  fool.  What  can  he  be  but  a  cloud 
without  rain,  a  tree  with  leaves  only.  As  when  the 
caravan  in  the  wilderness,  all  athirst  and  ready  to  die 
beneath  the  broiling  sun,  comes  to  the  long-desired  well, 
and,  horror  of  horrors  !  finds  it  without  a  drop  of  water  ; 
so  when  souls  thirsting  after  God  come  to  a  graceless 
ministry,  they  are  ready  to  perish  because  the  water  of 
life  is  not  to  be  found.  Better  abolish  pulpits  than  fill 
them  with  men  who  have  no  experimental  knowledge  of 
what  they  teach. 

Alas  !  the  unregenerate  pastor  becomes  terribly  niis- 
cMevons  too,  for  all  the  causes  which  create  infidelity, 
ungodly  ministers  must  be  ranked  among  the  first.  I 
read  the  other  day,  that  no  phase  of  evil  presented  so 
marvellous  a  power  for  destruction,  as  the  unconverted 
minister  of  a  parish,  with  a  £1200  organ,  a  choir  of 
ungodly  singers,  and  an  aristocratic  congregation.  It 
was  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  that  there  could  be  no 
greater  instrument  for  damnation  out  of  hell  than  that. 
People  go  to  their  place  of  worship  and  sit  down  comfort- 
ably, and  think  they  must  be  Christians,  when  all  the 
time  all  that  their  religion  consists  in,  is  listening  to  an 
orator,  having  their  ears  tickled  with  music,  and  perhaps 
their  eyes  amused  with  graceful  action  and  fashionable 
manners  ;  the  whole  being  no  better  than  what  they  hear 
and  see  at  the  opera — not  so  good,  perhaps,  in  point  of 
aesthetic  beauty,  and  not  an  atom  more  spiritual.  Thou- 
sands are  congratulating  themselves,  and  even  blessing 


18  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

God  that  they  are  devout  worshippers,  when  at  the  same 
time  they  are  hving  in  an  nnregenerate  Christlcss  state, 
having  the  form  of  godliness,  hut  denying  the  power 
thereof.  He  who  presides  over  a  system  which  aims  at 
nothing  higher  than  formalism,  is  far  more  a  servant  of 
the  devil  than  a  minister  of  God. 

A  formal  preacher  is  mischievous  while  he  preserves 
his  outward  equilihrium,  but  as  he  is  without  the  pre- 
serving balance  of  godliness,  sooner  or  later  he  is  almost 
sure  to  make  a  trip  in  his  moral  character,  and  what  a 
position  is  he  in  then  !  How  is  God  blasphemed,  and 
the  gospel  abused ! 

Terrible  is  it  to  consider  wJiaf  a  death  must  await 
such  a  man!  and  what  must  he  his  after-condition! 
The  prophet  pictures  the  king  of  Babylon  going  down 
to  hell,  and  all  the  kings  and  princes  whom  he  had 
destroyed,  and  whose  capitals  he  had  laid  waste,  rising 
up  from  their  places  in  Pandemonium,  and  saluting  the 
fallen  tyrant  with  the  cutting  sarcasm,  "  Art  thou  become 
like  unto  us  ?"  And  cannot  you  suppose  a  man  who  has 
been  a  minister,  but  who  has  lived  without  Christ  in  his 
heart,  going  down  to  hell,  and  all  the  imprisoned  spirits 
who  used  to  hear  him,  and  all  the  ungodly  of  his  parish 
rising  up  and  saying  to  him  in  bitter  tones,  "Art  thou 
also  become  as  we  are  ?  Physician,  didst  thou  not  heal 
thyself  ?  Art  thou  who  claimed  to  be  a  shining  liglit 
cast  down  into  the  darkness  for  ever  ?  "  Oh  !  if  one 
must  be  lost,  let  it  not  be  in  this  fashion  !  To  be  lost 
under  the  shadow  of  a  pulpit  is  dreadful,  but  how  much 
more  so  to  perish  from  the  pulpit  itself  ! 

There  is  an  awful  passage  in  John  BiTuyan's  treatise, 
entitled  ''Sighs  from  Hell,"  Avhich  full  often  rings  iu 
my  ears :  "  How  many  souls  have  blind  priests  been 
the  means  of  destroying  by  their  ignorance  ?    Preaching 


THE   minister's   SELF-WATCII.  10 

that  was  no  better  for  their  souls  than  ratsbane  to  the 
body.  Many  of  them,  it  is  to  be  feared,  have  whole 
towns  to  answer  for.  Ah  !  friend,  I  tell  thee,  thou  that 
liast  taken  in  hand  to  preach  to  the  people,  it  may  be  tliou 
hast  taken  in  hand  thou  canst  not  tell  what.  Will  it  not 
grieve  tlice  to  see  thy  whole  parish  come  bellowing  after 
thee  into  hell  ?  crying  out,  '  This  we  have  to  thank  thee 
'for,  thou  Avast  afraid  to  tell  us  of  our  sins,  lest  we  should 
not  put  meat  fast  enough  into  thy  mouth.  0  cursed 
wretcli,  wlio  wast  not  content,  blind  guide  as  thou  wast, 
to  fall  into  the  ditch  thyself,  but  hast  also  led  us  thither 
with  thee.'  " 

Eichard  Baxter,  in  his  "Eeformed  Pastor,"  amid 
much  other  solemn  matter,  writes  as  follows  :  "  Take 
heed  to  yourselves  lest  you  should  be  void  of  that  saving 
grace  of  God  which  you  offer  to  others,  and  be  strangers 
to  the  effectual  working  of  that  gospel  which  you  preach  ; 
and  lest,  while  you  proclaim  the  necessity  of  a  Saviour 
to  the  world,  your  hearts  should  neglect  him,  and  3'ou 
should  miss  of  an  interest  in  him  and  his  saving  benetits. 
Take  heed  to  yourselves,  lest  you  perish  while  you  call 
upon  others  to  take  heed  of  perishing,  and  lest  you  famisli 
yourselves  wliile  you  prepare  their  food.  Though  there 
be  a  promise  of  shining  as  stars  to  those  that  turn  many 
to  rigliteousness  (Dan.  xii.  3),  this  is  but  on  supposition 
that  they  be  first  turned  to  it  themselves  :  such  promises 
are  made  cmteris  paribus,  et  siqjj^ositis  supponendis. 
Their  own  sincerity  in  the  faith  is  the  condition  of  their 
glory  simply  considered,  though  their  great  ministerial 
labors  may  be  a  condition  of  the  promise  of  their  greater 
glory.  Many  men  have  warned  others  that  they  come 
not  to  that  place  of  torment,  which  yet  they  hasted  to 
themselves  ;  many  a  preacher  is  now  in  hell,  that  hatli 
an  hundred  times  called  upon   his  hearers  to  use  the 


c^ 


20  LECTURES   TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

utmost  care  and  diligence  to  escape  it.  Can  any  reason- 
able man  imagine  that  God  should  save  men  for  offering 
Ealvation  to  others,  while  tliey  refused  it  themselves,  and 
for  telling  others  those  truths  which  they  themselves 
neglected  and  abused  ?  Many  a  tailor  goes  in  rags  that 
maketli  costly  clothes  for  others  ;  and  many  a  cook  scarce 
licks  his  fingers,  when  he  hath  dressed  for  others  the 
most  costly  dishes.  Believe  it,  brethren,  God  never  saved 
any  man  for  being  a  preacher,  nor  because  he  was  an  able 
preacher  ;  but  because  he  was  a  justified,  sanctified  man, 
and  consequently  faithful  in  his  Master's  work.  Take 
heed,  therefore,  to  yourselves  first,  that  you  be  that 
which  you  persuade  others  to  be,  and  believe  that  which 
you  persuade  them  daily  to  believe,  and  have  heartily 
entertained  that  Christ  and  Spirit  which  you  offer  unto 
otliers.  He  that  bade  you  love  your  neighbors  as  your- 
selves, did  imply  that  you  should  love  yourselves  and 
not  hate  and  destroy  both  yourselves  and  them." 

My  brethren,  let  these  weighty  sentences  have  due 
effect  upon  you.  Surely  there  can  be  no  need  to  add 
more  ;  but  let  me  pray  you  to  examine  yourselves,  and 
so  make  good  use  of  what  has  been  addressed  to  you. 

This  first  matter  of  true  religion  being  settled,  it  is 

OF  THE  KEXT  IMPORTANCE  TO  THE  MINISTER  THAT 
HIS   PIETY   BE   VIGOROUS. 

lie  is  not  to  be  content  with  being  equal  to  the  rank 
iiud  file  of  Christians,  he  must  be  a  mature  and  advanced 
believer  ;  for  the  ministry  of  Christ  has  been  truly  called 
"  the  clioicest  of  his  choice,  the  elect  of  his  election,  a 
churcli  picked  out  of  the  church."  If  he  were  called  to 
an  ordinary  position,  and  to  common  work,  common  grace 
might  perhaps  satisfy  him,  though  even  then  it  would  be 
an  indolent  satisfaction  :  but  being:  elect  to  extraordi- 


THE  minister's  SELF-WATCII.  21 

nary  labors,  and  called  to  a  place  of  imusual  peril,  ho 
should  be  anxious  to  possess  that  superior  strength  which 
alone  is  adequate  to  his  station.  His  pulse  of  vital  god- 
liness must  beat  strongly  and  regularly  ;  his  eye  of  faith 
must  be  bright  ;  his  foot  of  resolution  must  be  firm  ;  liia 
hand  of  activity  must  be  quick  ;  his  whole  inner  man 
must  be  in  the  highest  degree  of  sanity.  It  is  said  of  the 
Egyptians  tliat  they  chose  their  priests  from  the  most 
learned  of  their  philosophers,  and  then  they  esteemed  their 
priests  so  highly,  that  they  chose  their  kings  from  them. 
We  require  to  have  for  God's  ministers  the  pick  of  all 
the  Christian  host ;  such  men  indeed,  that  if  the  nation 
wanted  kings  they  could  not  do  better  than  elevate  them 
to  the  throne.  Our  weakest-minded,  most  timid,  most 
carnal,  and  most  ill-balanced  men  are  not  suitable  can- 
didates for  the  pulpit.  There  are  some  works  which  we 
should  never  allot  to  the  invalid  or  deformed.  A  man 
may  not  be  qualified  for  climbing  lofty  buildings,  his 
brain  may  be  too  weak,  and  elevated  work  might  place 
him  in  great  danger ;  by  all  means  let  him  keep  on  the 
ground  and  find  useful  occupation  where  a  steady  brain 
is  less  important :  there  are  brethren  who  have  analogous 
spiritual  deficiencies,  they  cannot  be  called  to  service 
Avliich  is  conspicuous  and  elevated,  because  their  heads 
are  too  Avcak.  If  they  were  permitted  a  little  success  they 
would  be  intoxicated  with  vanity — a  vice  all  toocommon 
among  ministers,  and  of  all  things  the  least  becoming  in 
them,  and  the  most  certain  to  secure  them  a  fall.  Should 
we  as  a  nation  be  called  to  defend  our  hearths  and  homes, 
we  should  not  send  out  our  boys  and  girls  with  swords 
and  guns  to  meet  the  foe  ;  neither  may  the  church  send 
out  every  fluent  novice  or  inexperienced  zealot  to  plead 
for  the  faith.  The  fear  of  the  Lord  must  teach  the 
young  man  wisdom,  or  he  is  barred  from  the  pastorate ; 


22  -LECTUKES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

the  grace  of  God  must  mature  liis  spirit,  or  he  had  better 
tarry  till  power  be  given  him  from  on  high. 

The  highest  moral  character  must  be  sedulously 
maintained.  Many  are  disqualified  for  office  in  the  church 
who  are  well  enough  as  simple  members.  I  hold  very 
etern  opinions  with  regard  to  Christian  men  who  have 
fallen  into  gross  sin  ;  I  rejoice  that  they  may  be  truly 
converted,  and  may  be  with  mingled  hope  and  caution 
received  into  the  church  ;  but  I  question,  gravely  ques- 
tion whether  a  man  who  has  grossly  sinned  should  be 
very  readily  restored  to  the  pulpit.  As  John  Angel] 
James  remarks,  "  When  a  preacher  of  righteousness  has 
stood  in  the  way  of  sinners,  he  should  never  again  open  his 
lips  in  the  great  congregation  until  his  repentance  is  as 
notorious  as  his  sin."  Let  those  who  have  been  shorn 
by  the  sons  of  Amnion  tarry  at  Jericho  till  their  beards 
be  grown  ;  this  has  often  been  used  as  a  taunt  to  beard- 
less boys  to  whom  it  is  evidently  inapplicable  ;  it  is  an 
accurate  enough  metaphor  for  dishonored  and  character- 
less men,  let  their  age  be  what  it  may.  Alas  !  the  beard 
of  reputation  once  shorn  is  hard  to  grow  again.  Open 
immorality,  in  most  cases,  however  deep  the  repentance, 
is  a  fatal  sign  that  the  ministerial  graces  were  never  in 
the  man's  character.  Caesar's  wife  must  be  beyond  sus- 
picion, and  there  must  be  no  ugly  rumors  as  to  ministe- 
rial inconsistency  in  the  past,  or  the  hope  of  usefulness 
Avill  be  slender.  Into  the  church  such  fallen  ones  are  to 
be  received  as  penitents,  and  into  the  ministry  they  may 
be  received  if  God  puts  them  there ;  my  doubt  is  not 
about  that,  but  as  to  whether  God  ever  did  place  them 
there  ;  and  my  belief  is  that  Ave  should  be  very  slow  to 
help  buck  to  the  pulpit  men,  who  having  been  once  tried, 
liave  proved  themselves  to  have  too  little  grace  to  stand 
the  crucial  test  of  ministerial  life. 


THE   minister's   SELF-WATCH.  23 

For  some  work  we  choose  none  but  the  strong  ;  and 
when  God  calls  ns  to  ministerial  labor  we  should  en- 
deavor to  get  grace  that  Ave  may  be  strengthened  into 
fitness  for  our  position,  and  not  be  mere  novices  carried 
away  by  the  temptations  of  Satan,  to  the  injury  of  the 
church  and  our  own  ruin.  We  are  to  stand  equipped 
with  the  whole  armor  of  God,  ready  for  feats  of  valor  not 
expected  of  others  :  to  us  seK-denial,  self-forgetfulness, 
patience,  perseverance,  longsuffering,  must  be  every-day 
virtues,  and  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?  We  had 
need  live  very  near  to  God,  if  we  would  approve  ourselves 
in  our  vocation. 

Eecollect,  as  ministers,  that  your  whole  life,  your 
whole  pastoral  life  especially,  will  be  affected  by  the 
vigor  of  your  piety.  If  your  zeal  grows  dull,  you  will 
not  pray  well  in  the  pulpit ;  you  will  pray  worse  in  the 
family,  and  worst  in  the  study  alone.  When  your  soul 
becomes  lean,  your  hearers,  without  knowing  how  or 
why,  will  find  that  your  prayers  in  public  have  little 
savor  for  them  ;  they  will  feel  your  barrenness,  perhaps, 
before  you  perceive  i  t  yourself.  Your  discourses  will  next 
oetray  your  declension.  You  may  utter  as  well-chosen 
words,  as  fitly-ordered  sentences,  as  aforetime  ;  but  there 
will  be  a  perceptible  loss  of  spiritual  force.  You  will 
shake  yourselves  as  at  other  times,  even  as  Samson  did, 
but  you  will  find  that  your  great  strength  has  departed. 
In  your  daily  communion  with  your  people,  they  will 
not  be  slow  to  mark  the  all -pervading  decline  of  your 
graces.  Sharp  eyes  will  see  the  gray  hairs  here  and  there 
long  before  you  do.  Let  a  man  be  afflicted  with  a  dis- 
ease of  the  heart,  and  all  evils  are  wrapped  np  in  that 
one — stomach,  lungs,  viscera,  muscles,  and  nerves  will 
all  suffer ;  and  so,  let  a  man  have  his  heart  weakened  in 
spiritual  things,  and  very  soon  his  entire  life  will  feel  the 


24  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDE^STTS. 

withering  influence.  Moreover,  as  the  result  of  your 
own  decline,  everyone  of  your  hearers  will  suffer  more  or 
less  ;  the  vigorous  amongst  them  will  overcome  the  de- 
*"  pressing  tendency,  but  the  weaker  sort  will  be  seriously 
damaged.  It  is  with  us  and  our  hearers  as  it  is  with 
watches  and  the  pviblic  clock  ;  if  our  watch  be  wrong, 
^ery  few  will  be  misled  by  it  but  ourselves  ;  but  if  the 
Horse  Guards  or  Greenwich  Observatory  should  go 
amiss,  half  London  would  lose  its  reckoning.  So  it  is 
with  the  minister  ;  he  is  the  parish-clock,  many  take 
their  time  from  him,  and  if  he  be  incorrect,  then  they 
all  go  wrongly,  more  or  less,  and  he  is  in  a  great  meas- 
ure accountable  for  all  the  sin  which  he  occasions.  This 
we  cannot  endure  to  think  of,  my  brethren.  It  will  not 
bear  a  moment's  comfortable  consideration,  and  yet  it 
must  be  looked  at  that  we  may  guard  against  it. 

You  must  remember,  too,  that  we  have  need  of  very 
vigorous  piety,  because  our  danger  is  so  much  greater 
tlian  that  of  others.  Upon  the  whole,  no  place  is  so 
assailed  with  temptation  as  the  ministry.  Despite  the 
popular  idea  that  ours  is  a  snug  retreat  from  temptation, 
it  is  no  less  true  that  our  dangers  are  more  numerous 
and  more  insidious  than  those  of  ordinary  Christians. 
Ours  may  be  a  vantage-ground  for  height,  but  that  height 
is  perilous,  and  to  many  the  ministry  has  proved  a 
Tarpeian  rock.  If  you  ask  what  these  temptations 
are,  time  might  fail  us  to  particularize  them  ;  but  among 
them  are  both  the  coarser  and  the  more  refined  ;  the 
coarser  are  such  temptations  as  self-indulgence  at  the 
ta])lc,  enticements  to  which  are  superabundant  among 
a  hospitable  people  ;  the  temptations  of  the  flesh,  which 
are  incessant  with  young  unmarried  men  set  on  high 
among  an  admiring  throng  of  young  women  :  but  enough 
of  this,  your  own  observation  will  soon  reveal  to  you  a 


THE  minister's  self-watcii.  25 

tliousand  snares,  unless  indeed  your  eyes  are  blinded. 
There  are  more  secret  snares  than  these,  from  which  wc 
can  less  easily  escape  ;  and  of  these  the  worst  is  the 
temptation  to  ministerialism — the  tendency  to  read  our 
Bibles  as  ministers,  to  pray  as  ministers,  to  get  into  doing 
the  whole  of  our  religion  as  not  ourselves  personally,  but 
only  relatively,  concerned  in  it.  To  lose  the  personality 
of  repentance  and  faith  is  a  loss  indeed.  "  No  man," 
says  John  Owen,  "  preaches  his  sermon  well  to  others  if 
he  doth  not  first  preach  it  to  his  own  heart."  Brethren, 
it  is  eminently  hard  to  keep  to  this.  Our  office,  instead 
of  helping  our  piety,  as  some  assert,  is  through  the  evil 
of  our  natures  turned  into  one  of  its  most  serious  hin- 
drances ;  at  least,  I  find  it  so.  How  one  kicks  and 
struggles  against  officialism,  and  yet  how  easily  doth  it 
beset  us,  like  a  long  garment  which  twists  around  the 
racer's  feet  and  impedes  his  running  !  Beware,  dear 
brethren,  of  this  and  all  the  other  seductions  of  your 
calling  ;  and  if  you  have  done  so  until  now,  continue 
■(till  to  watch  till  life's  latest  hour. 

VVe  riMve  noted  but  one  of  the  perils,  but  indeed  they 
are  Icgiou  The  gr(  at  enemy  of  souls  takes  care  to  leave 
no  stone  unturned  f  c  .•  the  preacher's  ruin.  "  Take  heed  to 
yourselves,"  says  Baxter,  "  because  the  tempter  will  make 
his  first  and  sharpest  onset  upon  you.  If  you  Avill  be  the 
leaders  against  him,  he  will  spare  you  no  further  than 
God  restraineth  him.  He  beareth  you  the  gi'catest  mal- 
ice that  are  engaged  to  do  him  the  greotest  mischief. 
Aq  he  hateth  Christ  more  than  any  of  us,  because  he  is 
tl>e  General  of  tht  field,  and  the  '  Captain  of  our  salva- 
tion,' and  doth  more  than  all  the  world  besides  against 
tlie  kingdom  of  darkness  ;  so  doth  he  note  the  leaders 
under  him  more  than  the  common  soldiers,  on  the  like 
account,  in  their  proportion.     lie  knows  what  a  rout  he 


26  LECTUKES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

may  make  among  tlie  rest,  if  the  leaders  fall  before  their 
eyes.  He  hath  long  tried  that  way  of  fighting,  *  neither 
with  small  nor  great,'  comparatively,  but  these  ;  and  of 
'smiting  the  shepherds,  that  he  may  scatter  the  flock.' 
And  so  great  has  been  his  success  this  way,  that  he  will 
follow  it  on  as  far  as  he  is  able.  Take  heed,  therefore, 
brethren,  for  the  enemy  hath  a  special  eye  upon  you. 
Yon  shall  have  his  most  subtle  insinuations,  and  incessant 
solicitations,  and  violent  assaults.  As  wise  and  learned 
as  you  are,  take  heed  to  yourselves  lest  he  overwit  you. 
The  devil  is  a  greater  scholar  than  you,  and  a  nimbler 
disputant :  he  can  *  transform  himself  into  an  angel  of 
light '  to  deceive.  He  will  get  within  you  and  trip  your 
heels  before  you  are  aware  ;  he  will  play  the  juggler  Avith 
you  undiscerned,  and  cheat  you  of  your  faith  orinnocen- 
cy,  and  you  shall  not  know  that  you  have  lost  it ;  nay, 
he  will  make  you  believe  it  is  multiplied  or  increased 
when  it  is  lost.  You  shall  see  neither  hook  nor  line, 
much  less  the  subtle  angler  himself,  while  he  is  offering 
you  his  bait.  And  his  baits  shall  be  so  fitted  to  your 
temper  and  disposition,  that  he  will  be  sure  to  find  ad- 
vantages within  you,  and  make  your  own  principles  and 
inclinations  to  betray  you  ;  and  whenever  he  ruineth  you, 
he  will  make  you  the  instrument  of  your  own  ruin.  Oli, 
what  a  conquest  will  he  think  he  hath  got,  if  he  can 
make  a  minister  lazy  and  unfaithful ;  if  he  can  tempt  a 
a  minister  into  covetousness  or  scandal  !  He  will  glory 
against  the  church,  and  say,  '  These  are  your  holy  preacli- 
ers  :  you  see  what  their  precisencss  is,  and  whither  it  will 
bring  them,'  He  will  glory  against  Jesus  Christ  himself, 
and  say,  '  These  are  tliy  champions  !  I  can  make  tliy 
chiefest  servants  to  abuse  thee  ;  I  can  make  the  stewards 
of  thy  house  unfaithful.'  If  he  did  so  insult  against  God 
apon  a  false  surmise,  and  tell  him  he  could  make  Job  to 


THE  minister's  SELF-WATCII.  27 

curse  him  to  his  face  (Job  i.  2),  Avhat  Avould  he  do  if  he 
should  indeed  prevail  against  us  ?  And  at  last  he  will 
insult  as  much  over  you  that  ever  he  could  draw  you  to 
be  false  to  your  great  trust,  and  to  blemish  your  holy 
profession,  and  to  do  him  so  much  service  that  was  your 
enemy.  0  do  not  so  far  gratify  Satan  ;  do  not  make  him 
so  much  sport :  suffer  him  not  to  use  you  as  the  Philistines 
did  Samson — first  to  deprive  you  of  your  strength,  and 
then  to  put  out  your  eyes,  and  so  to  make  you  the  matter 
of  his  triumph  and  derision." 

Once  more.  We  must  cultivate  the  highest  degree  of 
godliness  because  our  work  ijnjjeratively  requires  it.  The 
labor  of  the  Christian  ministry  is  well  performed  in  exact 
proportion  to  the  vigor  of  our  renewed  nature.  Our 
work  is  only  well  done  when  it  is  well  with  ourselves.  As 
is  the  workman,  such  will  the  work  be.  To  face  the 
enemies  of  truth,  to  defend  the  bulwarks  of  the  faith,  to 
rule  well  in  the  house  of  God,  to  comfort  all  that  mourn, 
to  edify  the  saints,  to  guide  the  perplexed,  to  bear  with 
the  froward,  to  win  and  nurse  souls — all  these  and  a 
thousand  other  works  beside  are  not  for  a  Feeble-mind 
or  a  Eeady-to-halt,  but  are  reserved  for  Great-heart  whom 
the  Lord  has  made  strong  for  himself.  Seek  then 
strength  from  the  Strong  One,  wisdom  from  the  Wise 
One,  in  fact,  all  from  the  God  of  all. 

Thirdly,  let  the  minister  take  care  that  his  per- 
sonal CHARACTER  AGREES  IN  ALL  RESPECTS  WITH  HI3 
MINISTRY. 

We  have  all  heard  the  story  of  the  man  who  preached 
so  well  and  lived  so  badly,  that  when  he  was  in  the  pul- 
pit everybody  said  he  ought  never  to  come  out  again,  and 
when  he  was  out  of  it  they  all  declared  he  never  ought 
to  enter  it  again.     From  the  imitation  of  such  a  Janua 


28  LECTUKES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

may  tlie  Lord  deliver  us.  May  we  nerer  be  priests  of 
God  at  tlie  altar,  and  sons  of  Belial  outside  the  taber- 
nacle door ;  but  on  the  contrary,  may  we,  as  Nazianzen 
Bays  of  Basil,  *  thunder  in  our  doctrine,  and  lighten  in 
our  conversation."  We  do  not  trust  those  persons  who 
liave  two  faces,  nor  will  men  believe  in  those  whose  ver- 
bal and  practical  testimonies  are  contradictory.  As 
actions,  according  to  the  proverb,  speak  louder  than 
words,  so  an  ill  life  will  effectually  droAvn  the  voice  of 
the  most  elequent  ministry.  After  all,  our  truest  build- 
ing must  be  performed  with  our  hands  ;  our  characters 
must  be  more  persuasive  than  our  speech.  Here  I  would 
not  alone  warn  you  of  sins  of  commission,  but  of  sins  of 
omission.  Too  many  preachers  forget  to  serve  God  when 
they  are  out  of  the  pulpit,  tlieir  lives  are  negatively  in- 
consistent. Abhor,  dear  brethren,  cne  tnought  of  being 
clockwork  ministers  who  are  not  ahve  by  abidiiig  grace 
within,  but  aie  wound  up  by  temporary  mfiuences  ,  men 
Avho  are  only  ministers  for  the  time  being,  under  the 
stress  of  the  hour  of  ministering,  but  cease  to  be  minis- 
ters when  they  descend  the  pulpit  stairs.  True  minis- 
ters are  always  nc  '^.isters.  Too  many  preachers  are  like 
those  sand- toys  we  buy  for  our  children  ;  you  turn  the  box 
upside  down,  and  the  little  acrobat  revolves  and  re- 
volves till  the  sand  is  all  run  down,  and  then  he  hangs 
motionless ;  so  there  are  some  who  persevere  in  the 
ministrations  of  truth  as  long  as  there  is  an  official  neces- 
sity for  their  work,  but  after  that,  no  pay,  no  paternoster  ; 
no  salary,  no  sermon. 

It  is  a  horrible  thing  to  be  an  inconsistent  minister. 
Our  Lord  is  said  to  have  been  like  Moses,  for  this  reason, 
that  he  was  "  a  prophet  mighty  in  word  and  in  deed." 
Tlie  man  of  God  should  imitate  his  Master  in  this  ;  he 
Bhould  be  mighty  both  in  the  word  of  his  doctrine  and  in 


THE   MIlSriSTER'S   SELF-"\VATCn.  29 

tlie  cleed  of  liis  example,  and  mightiest,  if  possible,  iu 
tlie  second.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  only  church  his- 
tory we  have  is,  ''  T]ie  Acts  of  the  apostles."  The  Holy 
Spirit  has  not  preserved  their  sermons.  They  were  very 
good  ones,  better  than  we  shall  ever  preach,  but  still  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  only  taken  care  of  their  "  acts."  We 
have  no  books  of  the  resolutions  of  the  apostles ;  when 
we  hold  our  church-meetings  we  record  our  minutes  and 
resolutions,  but  the  Holy  Spirit  only  puts  down  the 
"  acts."  Our  acts  should  be  such  as  to  bear  recording, 
for  recorded  they  will  be.  We  must  live  as  under  the 
more  immediate  eye  of  God,  and  as  in  the  blaze  of  the 
great  all-revealing  day. 

Holiness  in  a  minister  is  at  once  his  chief  necessity 
and  his  goodliest  ornament.  Mere  moral  excellence  is 
not  enough,  there  must  be  the  higher  virtue  ;  a  consis- 
tent character  there  must  be,  but  this  must  be  anointed 
with  the  sacred  consecrating  oil,  or  that  which  makes  us 
most  fragrant  to  God  and  man  will  be  wanting.  Old  John 
Stoughton,  iu  his  treatise  entitled  "  The  Preacher's  Dig- 
nity and  Duty,"  insists  upon  the  minister's  holiness  in 
sentences  full  of  weight.  "  If  Uzzah  must  die  but  for 
tatiching  the  arJc  of  God,  and  that  to  stay  it  when  it  was 
like  to  fall ;  if  the  men  of  Beth-shemesh  for  looJcinrj  into 
it;  if  the  very  beasts  that  do  but  come  near  the  holy 
mount  be  threatened ;  then  what  manner  of  persons 
ought  they  to  be  Avho  shall  be  admitted  to  talk  with  God 
familiarly,  to  '  stand  before  him,'  as  the  angels  do,  and 
' behold  his  face  continually  ; '  'to  bear  the  ark  upon 
their  shoulders,'  '  to  bear  his  name  before  tlie  Gentiles  ;' 
in  a  word,  to  be  his  ambassadors  ?  '  Holiness  becometh 
thy  house,  0  Lord  ;'  and  were  it  not  a  ridiculous  thing  to 
imagine,  that  the  vessels  must  be  holy,  the  vestures  must 
>e  holy,  all  must  be  holy,  but  only  he  upon  whose  very 


30  LECTUKES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

garments  must  be  written  '  holiness  to  the  Lord,'  might 
be  unholy  ;  that  the  bells  of  the  horses  should  have  an 
inscription  of  holiness  upon  them,  in  Zecliariah,  and  the 
saints'  bells,  the  bells  of  Aaron,  should  be  unhallowed  ? 
No,  they  must  be  '  burning  and  shining  lights,'  or  else 
their  influence  will  dart  some  malignant  quality ;  tJiey 
must  '  chew  the  cud  and  divide  the  hoof,'  or  else  they 
are  unclean  ;  they  must  'divide  the  word  aright,'  and 
walk  uprightly  in  their  life,  and  so  join  life  to  learning. 
If  holiness  be  wanting,  the  ambassadors  dishonor  the 
country  from  whence  they  come,  and  the  prince  from 
whom  they  come  ;  and  this  dead  Amasa,  this  dead  doc- 
trine not  quickened  with  a  good  life,  lying  in  the  Avay, 
stops  the  people  of  the  Lord,  that  they  cannot  go  on 
cheerfully  in  their  spiritual  warfare." 

The  life  of  the  preacher  should  be  a  magnet  to  draw 
men  to  Christ,  and  it  is  sad  indeed  when  it  keeps  them 
from  him.  Sanctity  in  ministers  is  a  loud  call  to  sin- 
ners to  repent,  and  when  allied  with  holy  cheerfulness  it 
becomes  wondrously  attractive.  Jeremy  Taylor  in  his 
own  rich  language  tell  us,  "  Herod's  doves  could  never 
have  invited  so  many  strangers  to  their  dove-cotes,  if 
they  had  not  been  besmeared  with  opobalsamum  :  but, 

tav  fivpu  ;ifp;'o'»;c  Tflf  Tr£pigTepag,Kac  i^udev  a?Juig  a^ovaiv.  Said   Didy- 

mus ;  '  make  your  pigeons  smell  sweet,  and  they  will 
allure  whole  flocks;'  and  if  your  life  be  excellent,  if 
your  virtues  be  like  a  precious  ointment,  you  will  soon 
invite  your  charges  to  run  't7i  oclorem  unguentorum,'' 
'  after  your  precious  odors  : '  but  you  must  be  excellent, 
not '  tanquam  unus  depopulo,'  but  '  ianquamliomo  Dei ; ' 
you  must  be  a  man  of  God,  not  after  the  common  man- 
ner of  men,  but  '  after  God's  own  heart ; '  and  men  will 
stri\  e  to  be  like  you,  if  you  be  like  to  God :  but  when 
you  only  stand  at  the  door  of  virtue,  for  nothing  but  to 


THE   minister's   SELF-WATCH.  31 

keep  sill  out,  you  will  draw  into  the  fold  of  Christ  none 
but  such  as  fear  drives  in.  '  Ad  majorem  Dei  gloriam,' 
*  To  do  what  will  most  glorify  God,'  that  is  the  line  you 
must  walk  by  :  for  to  do  no  more  than  all  men  needs  must 
is  servility,  not  so  much  as  the  affection  of  sons  ;  much 
less  can  yon  be  fathers  to  the  people,  when  you  go  not  so 
far  as  the  sons  of  God  :  for  a  dark  lantern,  though  there 
be  a  weak  brightness  on  one  side,  will  scarce  enlighten 
one,  much  less  will  it  conduct  a  multitude,  or  allure 
many  followers  by  the  brightness  of  its  flame. 

Another  equally  admirable  episcopal  divine*  has  well 
and  pithily  said,  "  The  star  which  led  the  wise  men  unto 
Christ,  the  pillar  of  fire  which  led  the  children  unto 
Canaan,  did  not  only  shine,  but  go  before  them.  Matt. 
ii,  9  ;  Exod.  xiii.  21.  The  voice  of  Jacob  will  do  little 
good  if  the  hands  be  the  hands  of  Esau.  In  the  law,  no 
jicrson  who  had  any  blemish  was  to  offer  the  oblations 
of  the  Lord  (Lev.  xxi.  17-20);  the  Lord  thereby  teaching 
us  what  graces  ought  to  be  in  his  ministers.  The  priest 
was  to  have  in  his  robes  bells  and  pomegranates  ;  the  one 
a  figure  of  sound  doctrine,  and  the  other  of  a  fruitful 
life.  Exod.  xxviii.  33,  34.  The  Lord  will  be  sanctified 
in  all  those  that  draw  near  unto  him  (Isa.  lii.  11);  for 
the  sins  of  the  priests  make  the  people  abhor  the  offering 
of  the  Lord  (1  Sam.  ii.  17);  their  wicked  lives  do  shame 
their  doctrine  ;  Passionem  Christi  annimciant i^vofitendo, 
male  agendo  exhonorant,  as  St.  Austin  speaks  :  with  their 
doctrine  they  build,  and  with  their  lives  they  destroy. 
I  conclude  this  point  with  that  wholesome  passage  of 
Ilierom  ad  Kepoiiamim.  Let  not,  saitli  he,  thy  works 
shame  thy  doctrine,  lest  they  who  hear  thee  in  the  church 
tacitly  answer,  Why  doest  thou  not  thyself  what  thou 
tcachest  to  others  ?  lie  is  too  delicate  a  teacher  who 
*  Bisliop  Reynolds. 


32  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

persuadetli  others  to  fast  with  a  full  belly.  A  robber 
may  accuse  covetousness.  Sacerdotis  Cliristi  os,  "ueiis, 
manusque  concordent ;  a  minister  of  Christ  should  have 
his  tongue,  and  his  heart,  and  his  hand  agree." 

Very  quaint  also  is  the  language  of  Thomas  Playfero 
in  his  "  Say  Well,  Do  Well."  "  There  was  a  ridiculoug 
actor  in  the  city  of  Smyrna,  who,  pronouncing  0  ccelimi! 
0  heaven  !  pointed  with  his  finger  towards  the  ground  ; 
which  Avhcn  Polemo,  the  chiefest  man  in  the  place,  saw, 
he  could  abide  to  stay  no  longer,  but  went  from  the 
company  in  a  great  chafe,  saying  '  This  fool  hath  made 
a  solecism  with  his  hand,  he  has  spoken  false  Latin  witli 
his  finger.'  And  such  are  they  who  teach  well  and  do 
ill ;  that  however  they  have  heaven  at  their  tongue's  end, 
yet  the  earth  is  at  their  finger's  end  ;  such  as  do  not 
only  speak  false  Latin  with  their  tongue,  but  false  divin- 
ity with  their  hands  ;  such  as  live  not  according  to  their 
preaching.  But^  he  that  sits  in  the  heaven  will  laugh 
them  to  scorn,  and  hiss  them  off  the  stage,  if  they  do 
not  mend  their  action." 

Even  in  little  things  the  minister  should  take  care 
that  his  life  is  consistent  with  his  ministry.  He  should 
be  esjiecially  careful  never  to  fall  short  of  his  Avord. 
This  should  be  pushed  even  to  scrupulosity  ;  we  cannot 
be  too  careful ;  truth  must  not  only  be  in  us,  but  shine 
from  us.  A  celebrated  doctor  of  divinity  in  London,  who 
IS  now  in  heaven  I  have  no  doubt — a  very  excellent  and 
godly  man — gave  notice  one  Sunday  that  he  intended  to 
visit  all  his  people,  and  said,  that  in  order  to  be  able  to 
get  round  and  visit  them  and  their  families  once  in  the 
year,  he  should  take  all  tlie  seat-holders  in  order.  A 
person  well  known  to  me,  who  was  then  a  poor  man, 
was  delighted  with  the  idea  tliat  the  minister  was  coming 
to  his  house  to  see  him,  and  about  a  week  or  two  before 


THE  minister's  SELF-WATCH.  33 

he  conceived  it  would  be  liis  turn,  liis  wife  was  very 
careful  to  sweep  the  hearth  and  keep  the  house  tidy,  and 
the  man  ran  home  early  from  work,  hoping  each  night 
to  Jind  the  doctor  there.  This  went  on  for  a  considerable 
time.  He  eitlier  forgot  his  promise,  or  grew  weary  in 
])Giforming  it,  or  for  some  other  reason  never  went  to 
tliis  poor  man's  house,  and  tlie  result  was  this,  the  man 
lost  confidence  in  all  preachers,  and  said,  "  They  care 
for  the  rich,  but  they  do  not  care  for  us  who  are  poor." 
That  man  never  settled  down  to  any  one  place  of  worship 
for  many  years,  till  at  last  he  dropped  into  Exeter  Hall 
and  remained  my  hearer  for  years  till  providence  removed 
him.  It  was  no  small  task  to  make  him  believe  that  any 
minister  could  be  an  honest  man,  and  could  impartially 
love  both  rich  and  poor.  Let  us  avoid  doing  such  mis- 
chief, by  being  very  particular  as  to  our  Avord. 

We  must  remember  that  Ave  are  very  much  looked  at. 
Men  hardly  have  the  impudence  to  break  the  law  in  the 
open  sight  their  fellows,  yet  in  such  publicity  we  live  and 
move.  We  are  watched  by  a  thousand  eagle  eyes ;  let 
us  so  act  that  we  shall  never  need  to  care  if  all  heaven, 
and  earth,  and  hell,  SAvelled  the  list  of  spectators.  Our 
public  position  is  a  great  gain  if  we  are  enabled  to  exhibit 
tlie  fruits  of  the  Spirit  in  our  lives  ;  take  heed,  brethren, 
that  you  throAV  not  away  the  advantage. 

When  we  say  to  you,  my  dear  brethren,  take  care  of 
your  life,  we  mean  be  careful  of  even  the  minutias  of 
your  character.  Avoid  little  debts,  unpunctuality,  gos- 
siping, nicknaming,  petty  quarrels,  and  all  other  of  those 
little  vices  Avhich  fdl  the  ointment  with  flics.  The  seK- 
indulgences  Avhich  have  lowered  the  repute  of  many  must 
not  be  tolerated  by  us.  The  familiarities  Avhicli  have  laid 
others  under  suspicion,  we  must  chastely  avoid.  The 
roughnesses  which  have  rendered  some  obnoxious,  and 
2* 


34  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

the  fopperies  which  liave  made  others  contemptible,  we 
must  put  away.  We  cannot  afford  to  run  great  risks 
througli  little  things.  Our  care  must  be  to  act  on  the 
rule,  "giving  no  offence  in  anything,  that  the  ministry 
be  not  blamed." 

By  this  is  not  intended  that  we  are  to  hold  ourselves 
bound  by  every  whim  or  fashion  of  the  society  in  which 
we  move.  As  a  general  rule,  I  hate  the  fashions  of  soci- 
ety, and  detest  conventionalities,  and  if  I  conceived  it 
best  to  put  my  foot  through  a  lav/  of  etiquette,  I  should 
feel  gratified  in  having  it  to  do.  No,  we  are  men,  not 
slaves  ;  and  are  not  to  relinquish  our  manly  freedom,  to 
be  the  lacqueys  of  those  who  affect  gentility  or  boast 
refinement.  Yet,  brethren,  anything  that  verges  upon 
the  coarseness  which  is  akin  to  sin,  we  must  shun  as  we 
would  a  viper.  The  rules  of  Chesterfield  are  ridiculous 
to  us,  but  not  the  example  of  Christ ;  and  he  was  never 
coarse,  low,  discourteous,  or  indelicate. 

Even  in  your  recreations,  remember  that  you  are 
ministers.  When  you  are  off  the  parade  you  are  still 
officers  in  the  army  of  Christ,  and  as  such  demean  your- 
selves. But  if  the  lesser  things  must  be  looked  after, 
how  careful  should  you  be  in  the  great  matters  of  mo- 
rality, honesty,  and  integrity  !  Here  the  minister  must 
not  fail.  His  private  life  must  ever  keep  good  tune  with 
his  ministr}^,  or  his  day  will  soon  set  with  him,  and  the 
sooner  he  retires  the  better,  for  his  continuance  in  his 
office  will  only  dishonor  the  cause  of  God  and  ruin 
himself. 

Bretliren,  the  limits  of  a  lecture  are  reached,  and  wo 
wust  adjourn 


LECTURE  11. 

THE  CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY. 

AxT  Christian  has  a  right  to  disseminate  the  gospel 
who  has  the_ability  to  do  so  ;  and  more,  he  not  only  has 
the  right,  but  it  is  his  duty  so  to  do  as  long  as  he  lives. 
Rev,  xxii.  17.  The  propagation  of  the  gospel  is  left,  not 
to  a  few,  but  to  all  the  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  : 
according  to  the  measure  of  grace  intrusted  to  him  by 
tlie  Holy  Spirit,  eacli  man  is  bound  to  minister  in  his 
day  and  generation,  both  to  the  church  and  among  unbe- 
lievers. Indeed,  this  question  goes  beyond  men,  and 
even  includes  the  whole  of  the  other  sex  ;  wliether 
believers  are  male  or  female,  they  are  all  bound,  when 
enabled  by  divine  grace,  to  exert  themselves  to  the  utmost 
to  extend  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Our 
service,  however,  need  not  take  the  particular  form  of 
preaching — certainly,  in  some  cases  it  must  not,  as  for 
instance  in  tlie  case  of  females,  whose  public  teaching  is 
expressly  prohibited  :  1  Tim.  ii.  12  ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  34.  But 
yet  if  Avc  have  the  ability  to  preach,  we  are  bound  to 
exercise  it.  I  do  not,  however,  in  this  lecture  allude  to 
occasional  preacliing,  or  any  other  form  of  ministry 
common  to  all  the  saints,  but  to  tlie  work  and  office  of  the 
bishopric,  in  which  is  included  both  teaching  and  bearing 
rule  in  the  church,  which  requires  the  dedication  of  a 
man's  entire  life  to  spiritual  work,  and  separation  from 
every  secular  calling,  2  Tim.  ii.  4  ;  and  entitles  the  man 


36  LECTUEES  TO    MY  STUDENTS. 

to  cast  himself  for  temporal  supplies  upon  the  church  of 
God,  since  he  gives  up  all  his  time,  energies,  and  endeav- 
ors, for  the  good  of  those  over  whom  he  presides.  1  Cor. 
ix.  11  ;  1  Tim.  v.  18.  Such  a  man  is  addressed  by  Peter 
in  the  words,  "  Feed  the  flock  of  God  which  is  among 
you,  taking  the  oversight  thereof."  1  Pet.  v.  2.  Now, 
all  in  a  church  cannot  oversee,  or  rule — there  must  be 
some  to  be  overseen  and  ruled  ;  and  we  believe  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  appoints  in  the  church  of  God  some  to  act  as 
overseers,  while  others  are  made  willing  to  be  watched 
over  for  their  good.  All  are  not  called  to  labor  in  word 
^nd  doctrine,  or  to  be  elders,  or  to  exercise  the  office  of 
a  bishop  ;  nor  should  all  aspire  to  such  works,  since  the 
gifts  necessary  are  nowhere  promised  to  all ;  but  those 
should  addict  themselves  to  such  important  engagements 
who  feel,  like  the  apostle,  that  they  have  ''  received  this 
ministry."  2  Cor.  iv.  1.  No  man  may  intrude  into  the 
sheep-fold  as  an  undcr-shepherd  ;  he  must  have  an  eye  to 
the  chief  Shepherd,  and  wait  his  beck  and  command.  Or 
ever  a  man  stands  forth  as  God's  ambassador,  he  must 
wait  for  the  call  from  above  ;  and  if  he  does  not  so,  but 
rushes  into  the  sacred  office,  the  Lord  Avill  say  of  him 
and  others  like  him,  "I  sent  them  not,  neither  com- 
manded them  ;  therefore  they  shall  not  profit  this  people 
at  all,  saith  the  Lord."    Jer.  xxiii.  32. 

By  reference  to  the  Old  Testament,  you  will  find  the 
messengers  of  God  in  the  old  dispensation  claiming  to 
hold  commissions  from  Jeliovah.  Isaiah  tells  us  tliat 
one  of  the  seraphim  touched  his  lips  with  a  live  coal  from 
off  the  altar,  and  the  voice  of  the  Lord  said,  "  Whom 
shall  I  send,  and  who  will  go  for  us  ?  "  Isa.  vi.  8.  Then 
said  the  proplict,  "  Here  am  I,  send  me."  He  ran  n(jfc 
before  he  had  been  thus  especially  visited  of  the  Lord 
and  qualified  for  his  mission.     "How  shall  theypreacli, 


CALL  TO  THE   MINISTRY.  37 

except  they  be  sent  ?  "  were  words  as  yet  unuttered,  but 
their  solemn  meaning  was  well  understood.  Jeremiah 
details  his  call  in  his  first  chapter  :  "Then  the  Avord  of 
the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying,  Before  I  formed  thee  in 
the  l)elly  I  knew  thee  ;  and  before  thou  earnest  forth  out  of 
Avonib,  I  sanctified  thee,  and  I  ordained  thee  a  prophet 
unto  the  nations.  Then  said  I,  Ah,  Lord  God  !  behold, 
I  cannot  speak ;  for  I  am  a  child.  But  the  Lord  said 
unto  me,  Say  not,  I  am  a  child  :  for  thou  shalt  go  to  all 
that  I  shall  send  thee,  and  whatsoever  I  command  thee 
thou  shalt  speak.  Be  not  afraid  of  their  faces  :  for  I  am 
with  thee  to  deliver  thee,  saith  the  Lord.  Then  the 
Lord  put  forth  his  hand,  and  touched  my  mouth  ;  and 
the  Lord  said  unto  me.  Behold,  I  have  put  my  words  in 
thy  mouth.  See,  I  have  this  day  set  thee  over  the  na- 
tions and  over  the  kingdoms,  to  root  out,  and  to  pull 
down,  and  to  destroy,  and  to  throw  down,  and  to  build, 
and  to  plant."  Jer.  i.  4-10.  Varying  in  its  outward 
form,  but  to  the  same  purport,  was  the  commission  of 
Ezekiel ;  it  runs  thus  in  his  own  words  :  ''And  he  said 
unto  me,  Son  of  man,  stand  upon  thy  feet,  and  I  will 
speak  nnto  thee.  And  the  Spirit  entered  into  me  when 
he  spoke  unto  me,  and  set  me  upon  my  feet,  that  I  heard 
him  that  spake  nnto  me.  And  he  said  unto  me.  Son  of 
man,  I  send  thee  to  the  children  of  Israel,  to  a  rebellious 
nation  that  hath  rebelled  against  me  :  they  and  their 
fathers  have  transgi'cssed  against  me,  even  unto  this  very 
day."  Ezek.  ii.  1-3.  "  Moreover  he  said  unto  me,  Sou 
of  man,  eat  that  thou  findcst ;  eat  this  roll,  and  go  speak 
unto  the  house  of  Israel.  So  I  opened  my  mouth,  and 
he  caused  me  to  eat  that  roll.  And  he  said  unto  me,  Son 
of  man,  cause  thy  belly  to  eat,  and  fill  thy  bowels  with 
this  roll  that  I  give  thee.  Then  did  I  eat  it ;  and  it  was 
in  my  mouth  as  honey  for  sweetness.     And  he  said  unto 


38  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDEKTS. 

me,  Sou  of  man,  go,  get  thee  unto  the  house  of  Israel, 
and  speak  with  my  words  unto  them."  Ezek.  iii.  1-4. 
Daniel's  call  to  prophesy,  although  not  recorded,  is  abun- 
dantly attested  by  the  visions  granted  to  him,  and  the 
exceeding  favor  which  he  had  with  the  Lord,  both  in 
liis  solitary  meditations  and  public  acts.  It  is  not  need- 
ful to  pass  all  the  other  prophets  in  review,  for  they  all 
claimed  to  speak  with  "  thus  saith  the  Lord."  In  the 
present  dispensation,  the  priesthood  is  common  to  all  the 
saints  ;  but  to  prophesy,  or  what  is  analogous  thereto, 
namely,  to  be  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  give  one's  self 
up  wholly  to  the  proclamation  of  the  gospel,  is,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  gift  and  calling  of  only  a  comparatively  small 
number  ;  and  surely  these  need  to  be  as  sure  of  the  right- 
fulness of  their  position  as  were  the  prophets ;  and  yet  how 
can  they  justify  their  office,  excei:)t  by  a  similar  call  ? 

Nor  need  any  imagine  that  such  calls  are  a  mere 
delusion,  and  that  none  are  in  this  age  separated  for  the 
peculiar  work  of  teaching  and  overseeing  the  church,  for 
the  very  names  given  to  ministers  in  the  New  Testament 
imply  a  previous  call  to  their  work.  The  apostle  says, 
"  Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  God  ; "  but  does  not 
the  very  soul  of  the  ambassadorial  office  lie  in  the  appoint- 
ment which  is  made  by  the  monarch  represented  ?  An 
ambassador  unsent  would  be  a  laughing-stock.  Men  who 
dare  to  avow  themselves  ambassadors  for  Christ,  must 
feel  most  solemnly  that  the  Lord  has  "  committed  "  to 
them  the  word  of  reconciliation.  2  Cor.  v.  18,  19.  If 
is  be  said  that  this  is  restricted  to  the  apostles,  I  answer 
that  the  epistle  is  written  not  in  the  name  of  Paul  only, 
but  of  Timothy  also,  and  hence  included  other  ministry 
besides  apostleship.  In  the  first  epistle  to  the  Corin- 
thians we  read,  "  Let  a  man  so  account  of  us  (the  us 
here  meaning  Paul  and  Sosthenes,  1  Cor.  i.  1),  as  of  the 


CALL  TO  THE   MINISTRY.  39 

»>.fnistcr3  of  Christ,  and  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of 
God."  1  Cor.  iv.  1.  Surely  a  steward  must  hold  liis 
office  from  the  Master.  He  cannot  be  a  steward  merely 
because  he  chooses  to  be  so,  or  is  so  regarded  by  others. 
If  any  of  us  should  elect  ourselves  stewards  to  the  Mar 
quis  of  Westminster,  and  proceed  to  deal  with  his  prop- 
erty, we  should  have  our  mistake  very  speedily  pointed 
out  to  us  in  the  most  convincing  manner.  There  must 
evidently  be  authority  ere  a  man  can  legally  become  a 
bishop,  **'  the  steward  of  God."    Titus  i.  7. 

The  A^jocalyptic  i\t\Q  oi  Angel  (Rev.  ii.  1)  means  a 
messenger  ;  and  how  shall  men  be  Christ's  heralds,  un- 
less by  his  election  and  ordination  ?  If  the  reference  of 
the  \fOY(\.  Angel  to  the  minister  be  questioned,  we  should 
be  glad  to  have  it  shown  that  it  can  relate  to  any  one 
else.  To  whom  would  the  Spirit  write  in  the  church  as 
its  representative,  but  to  some  one  in  a  j)osition  analogous 
to  that  of  the  presiding  elder  ? 

Titus  was  bidden  to  make  full  proof  of  his  ministry — 
there  was  surely  something  to  prove.  Some  are  "  ves- 
sels unto  honor,  sanctified  and  meet  for  the  Master's  use, 
and  prepared  unto  every  good  work."  2  Tim.  ii.  21. 
The  Master  is  not  to  be  denied  the  choice  of  the  vessels 
which  he  uses,  he  will  still  say  of  certain  men  as  he  did 
of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  "  He  is  a  chosen  vessel  unto  me,  to 
bear  my  name  before  the  Gentiles."  Acts  ix.  15.  When 
our  Lord  ascended  on  high  he  gave  gifts  unto  men,  and 
it  is  noteworthy  that  these  gifts  were  men  set  apart  for 
various  works  :  "  He  gave  some,  apostles  ;  and  some, 
prophets  ;  and  some,  evangelists  ;  and  some,  pastors  and 
teachers  "  (Eph.  iv.  11)  ;  from  Avhich  it  is  evident  that 
certain  individuals  are,  as  the  result  of  our  Lord's  ascen- 
sion, bestowed  upon  the  churches  as  pastors ;  they  arc 
given  of  God,  and  consequently  not  self-elevated  to  their 


40  LECTUEES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

position.  Brethren,  I  trust  you  may  be  cable  one  day  to 
speak  of  the  flock  over  whom  "  the  Holy  Ghost  has  made 
yon  overseers"  (Acts  xx.  28),  and  I  pray  that  every  one 
of  you  may  be  able  to  say  with  the  apostle  of  the  Gen- 
tiles., that  your  ministry  is  not  of  man,  neither  by  man, 
but  that  you  have  received  it  of  the  Lord.  Gal.  i.  1.  lu 
you  may  that  ancient  promise  be  fulfilled,  ^'I  will  give 
them  pastors  according  to  mine  heart."  Jer.  iii.  15.  "I 
will  set  uj)  shepherds  over  them,  which  shall  feed  them." 
Jer.  xxiii.  4.  May  the  Lord  himself  fulfil  in  your  sev- 
eral persons  his  own  declaration:  ''I  have  set  watch- 
men upon  thy  walls,  0  Jerusalem,  which  shall  never 
hold  their  peace  day  nor  night."  May  you  take  forth 
the  precious  from  tlie  vile,  and  so  be  as  God's  mouth. 
Jer.  XV.  19.  May  the  Lord  make  manifest  by  you  tlie 
savor  of  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  in  every  place,  and 
make  you  "  unto  God  a  sweet  savor  of  Christ,  in  them 
that  nre  saved,  and  in  them  that  perish."  2  Cor.  ii.  15. 
ILiving  a  priceless  treasure  in  earthen  vessels,  may  the 
excellency  of  the  divine  power  rest  upon  you,  and  so  may 
you  both  glorify  God  and  clear  yourself  from  the  blood 
of  all  men.  As  the  Lord  Jesus  went  up  to  the  Mount 
and  c'llled  to  him  whom  he  would,  and  then  sent  them 
forth  to  preach  (Mark  iii.  13),  even  so  may  he  select  you, 
call  you  upward  to  commune  with  himself,  and  send  you 
forth  as  his  elect  servants  to  bless  both  the  church  and 
the  world. 

Ho'o  may  a  young  man  know  whctlter  he  is  called  or 
not?  That  is  a  weighty  inquiry,  and  I  desire  to  treat  it 
most  solemnly.  0  for  divine  guidance  in  so  doing ! 
That  hundreds  have  missed  their  way,  and  stumbled 
against  a  pulpit  is  sorrowfully  evident  from  the  fruitless 
ministries  and  decaying  churches  which  surround  us.  Tt 
is  a  fearful  calamity  to  a  man  to  miss  his  calling;  and,  to 


CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY.  41 

the  chnrcli  upon  wliom  he  imiioscs  himself,  his  mistake 
involves  an  atlliction  of  the  most  grievous  kind.  It 
would  be  a  curious  and  painful  subject  for  reflection — 
the  frequency  with  which  men  in  the  possession  of  rea- 
son mistake  the  end  of  their  existence,  and  aim  at  objects 
which  they  were  never  intended  to  pursue.  The  writer 
who  penned  the  following  lines  must  surely  have  had 
his  eye  upon  many  ill-occupied  pulpits  : 

"  Declare,  ye  sages,  if  ye  find 
'Mongst  animals  of  every  kind, 
Of  each  condition,  sort,  and  size, 
From  whales  and  elephants  to  fliea, 
A  creature  that  mistakes  his  plan. 
And  errs  so  constantly  as  man  I 

"  Each  kind  pursues  its  proper  good. 
And  seeks  enjoyment,  rest,  and  food, 
As  nature  points,  and  never  errs 
In  what  it  chooses  or  prefers ; 
Man  only  blunders,  though  possessed 
Of  reason  far  above  the  rest. 

"  Descend  to  instances  and  try : 
An  ox  will  not  attempt  to  fly. 
Or  leave  his  pasture  in  the  wood 
With  fishes  to  explore  the  flood, 
Man  only  acts,  of  every  creature. 
In  opposition  to  his  nature." 

When  I  think  upon  the  all  but  infinite  mischief  whicl 
may  result  from  a  mistake  as  to  our  vocation  for  the 
Christian  pastorate,  I  feel  overwhelmed  with  fear  lest  any 
of  us  should  be  slack  in  examining  our  credentials  ;  and 
I  had  rather  that  we  stood  too  much  in  doubt,  and 
examined  too  frequently,  than  that  we  should  become 
cumberers  of  the  ground.  There  are  not  lacking  many 
exact  methods  by  which  a  man  may  test  his  call  to  the 


i2  LECTURES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

mioistry  if  lie  earnestly  desires  to  do  so.  It  is  imperative 
upon  him  not  to  enter  the  ministry  until  he  has  made 
solemn  quest  and  trial  of  himself  as  to  this  point.  His 
own  personal  salvation  being  secure,  he  must  investigate 
as  to  the  further  matter  of  his  call  to  office  ;  the  first  is 
vital  to  himself  as  a  Christian,  the  second  equally  vital 
to  him  as  a  pastor.  As  well  be  a  professor  without  con- 
version, as  a  pastor  without  calling.  In  both  cases  there 
is  a  name  and  nothing  more. 

1.  The  first  sign  of  the  heavenly  call  is  an  intense, 
all-absorbing  desire  for  the  work.  In  order  to  a  true  call 
to  the  ministry  there  must  be  an  irresistible,  overwhelm- 
ing craving  and  raging  thirst  for  telling  to  others  what 
God  has  done  to  our  own  souls  ;  what  if  I  call  it  a  kind 
of  cTopy?},  such  as  birds  have  for  rearing  their  young  when 
the  season  is  come  ;  when  the  mother-bird  would  sooner 
die  than  leave  her  nest.  It  was  said  of  Alleine  by  one 
who  knew  him  intimately,  that  ''  he  was  infinitely  and 
insatiably  greedy  of  the  conversion  of  souls."  When  he 
might  have  had  a  fellowship  at  his  university,  he  preferred 
a  chaplaincy,  because  he  was  "  inspired  with  an  impa- 
tience to  be  occupied  in  direct  ministerial  work."  "  Do 
not  enter  the  ministry  if  you  can  help  it,"  was  the  deeply 
sage  advice  of  a  divine  to  one  who  sought  his  judgment. 
If  any  student  in  this  room  could  be  content  to  be  a 
newspaper  editor,  or  a  grocer,  or  a  farmer,  or  a  doctor, 
or  a  lawyer,  or  a  senator,  or  a  king,  in  the  name  of 
heaven  and  earth  let  him  go  his  way  ;  he  is  not  the  man 
in  whom  dwells  tlie  Spirit  of  God  in  its  fulness,  for  a 
man  so  filled  with  God  would  utterly  weary  of  any  pursuit 
but  that  for  which  his  inmost  soul  pants.  If  on  the 
other  hand,  you  can  say  that  for  all  the  wealth  of  both 
the  Indies  you  could  not  and  dare  not  espouse  any  other 
calling  so  as  to  be  put  aside  from  preaching  the  gospel 


CALL  TO   THE   MINISTRY.  43 

of  Jesus  Clirist,  then,  depend  upon  it,  if  othei  things  be 
equally  satisfactory,  you  have  the  signs  of  this  apostle- 
ship.  We  must  feel  tliat  woe  is  unto  us  if  we  preach  not 
the  gospel ;  the  word  of  God  must  be  unto  us  as  lire  in  our 
Dones,  otherwise,  if  we  undertake  the  ministry,  we  shall 
be  unhappy  in  it,  shall  be  unable  to  bear  the  self- 
denials  incident  to  it,  and  shall  be  of  little  service  to 
those  among  whom  we  minister.  I  speak  of  self-denials, 
and  well  I  may  ;  for  the  true  pastor's  work  is  full  of  them, 
and  without  a  love  to  his  calling  he  will  soon  succumb, 
and  either  leave  the  drudgery,  or  move  on  in  discontent, 
burdened  with  a  monotony  as  tiresome  as  that  of  a  blind 
horse  in  a  mill. 

"  There  is  a  comfort  in  the  strength  of  love  ; 
'Twill  make  a  thing  endurable  which  else 
Would  break  the  heart." 

Girt  with  that  love,  you  will  be  undaunted  ;  divested  of 
that  more  than  magic-belt  of  irresistible  vocation,  you 
will  pine  away  in  wretchedness. 

This  desire  must  be  a  tliougldfid  one.  It  should  not 
be  a  sudden  impulse  unattended  by  anxious  consider- 
ation. It  should  be  the  outgrowth  of  our  heart  in  its 
best  moments,  the  object  of  our  reverent  aspirations,  the 
subject  of  our  most  fervent  prayers.  It  must  continue 
with  us  when  tempting  offers  of  wealth  and  comfort 
come  in  to  conflict  with  it,  and  remain  as  a  calm,  clear- 
headed resolve  after  everything  has  been  estimated  at  its 
right  figure,  and  the  cost  thoroughly  counted.  "When 
living  as  a  child  at  my  grandfather's  in  the  country,  I 
saw  a  company  of  huntsmen  in  their  red  coats  riding 
through  his  fields  after  a  fox.  I  was  delighted  !  My 
little  heart  was  excited  ;  I  was  ready  to  follow  the  hounds 
over  hedge  and  ditch.     I  have  always  felt  a  natural  taste 


44  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

for  that  sort  of  business,  and,  as  a  child,  Avhen  asked  what 
I  would  be,  I  usually  said  I  was  going  to  be  a  huntsman. 
A  fine  p]-ofession,  truly  !  Many  young  men  ha^'e  the 
same  idea  of  being  parsons  as  I  had  of  being  a  hunts- 
man— a  mere  childish  notion  that  they  would  like  the 
coat  and  the  horn-blowing ;  the  honor,  the  respect,  the 
ease  ;  and  they  are  probably  even  fools  enough  to  think, 
the  riches  of  the  ministry.  (Ignorant  beings  they  must 
be  if  they  look  for  wealth  in  connection  with  the  Baptist 
ministry.)  The  fascination  of  the  preacher's  office  is 
very  great  to  weak  minds,  and  hence  I  earnestly  caution 
all  young  men  not  to  mistake  whim  for  inspiration,  and 
a  childish  preference  for  a  call  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Mark  well,  that  the  desire  I  have  spoken  of  must  be 
iliorongliJy  disinterested.  If  a  man  can  detect,  after  the 
most  earnest  self-examination,  any  other  motive  than 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  souls  in  his  seeking  the 
bishopric,  he  had  better  turn  aside  from  it  at  once  ;  for 
the  Lord  will  abhor  the  bringing  of  buyers  and  sellers 
into  his  temple  :  the  introduction  of  anything  mercenary, 
even  in  the  smallest  degree,  will  be  like  the  fly  in  the 
pot  of  ointment,  and  will  spoil  it  all. 

This  desire  should  be  one  which  continues  with  us, 
a  passion  which  bears  the  test  of  trial,  a  longing  from 
which  it  is  quite  impossible  for  us  to  escape,  though  we 
may  have  tried  to  do  so  ;  a  desire,  in  fact,  which  grows 
more  intense  by  the  lapse  of  years,  until  it  becomes  a 
yearning,  a  pining,  a  famishing  to  proclaim  the  Word. 
This  intense  desire  is  so  noble  and  beautiful  a  thing,  that 
•v^henever  I  see  it  glowing  in  any  young  man's  bosom,  I 
am  always  slow  to  discourage  him,  even  though  I  may  have 
my  doubts  as  to  his  abilities.  It  may  be  needful,  for  rea- 
sons to  be  given  you  further  on,  to  repress  the  flame,  but 
it  should  be  reluctantly  and  wisely  done.     I  have  such  a 


CALL  TO   THE   MIXISTRT.  45 

profo'jud  respect  for  tliis  "  fire  in  the  bones,"  that  if  I 
did  not  feel  it  myself,  I  must  lenve  the  ministry  at  once. 
If  you  do  not  feel  the  consecrated  glow,  I  beseech  you 
return  to  your  homes  and  serve  God  in  your  proper 
spheres  ;  but  if  assuredly  the  coals  of  juniper  blaze  within, 
do  not  stifle  them,  unless,  indeed,  other  considerations 
of  great  moment  should  prove  to  you  that  the  desire  is 
not  a  fire  of  heavenly  origin. 

2.  In  the  second  place,  combined  with  the  earnest 
desire  to  become  a  pastor,  there  must  be  aptness  to  teach, 
and  some  measure  of  the  other  qualities  needful  for  the 
office  of  a  public  instructor.  A  man  to  prove  his  call 
must  make  a  successful  trial  of  these.  I  do  not  claim 
that  the  first  time  a  man  rises  to  speak  he  must  preach 
as  well  as  Kobert  Hall  did  in  his  later  days.  If  he 
preaches  no  worse  than  that  great  man  did  at  first,  he 
must  not  00  condemned.  You  are  aware  that  Kobcrc 
Hall  broke  down  altogether  three  times,  and  cried,  "  If 
this  ioes  not  humble  me,  nothing  will."  Some  of  the 
noblest  speakers  were  not  in  their  early  days  the  most 
fluent.  Even  Cicero  at  first  suffered  from  a  weak  voice 
and  a  difficulty  of  utterance.  Still,  a  man  must  not  con- 
sider that  he  is  called  to  preach  until  he  has  proved  that 
he  can  sjoeak.  God  certainly  has  not  created  behemoth 
to  fly  ;  and  should  leviathan  have  a  strong  desire  to 
ascend  with  the  lark,  it  would  evidently  be  an  umvise 
aspiration,  since  he  is  not  furnished  with  wings.  If  a 
man  be  called  to  preach,  he  will  be  endowed  with  a  degree 
of  speaking  ability,  which  he  will  cultivate  and  increase. 
If  the  gift  of  utterance  be  not  there  in  a  measure  at 
first,  it  is  not  likely  that  it  will  ever  be  developed. 

I  have  heard  of  a  gentleman  who  had  a  most  intense 
desire  to  preach,  and  pressed  his  suit  upon  his  minister, 
until  after  a  multitude  of  rebuffs  he  obtained  leave  to 


46  LECTURES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

preach  a  trial  sermon.  That  opportunity  was  the  end 
of  his  importunity,  for  upon  announcing  his  text  he 
found  himself  bereft  of  every  idea  but  one,  which  he  de- 
livered feelingly,  and  then  descended  the  rostrum.  "  My 
brethren,"  said  he,  "if  any  of  you  think  it  an  easy  thing 
to  preach,  I  advise  you  to  come  up  here  and  have  all  the 
conceit  taken  out  of  you."  The  trial  of  your  powers 
will  go  far  to  reveal  to  you  your  deficiency,  if  you  have 
not  the  needed  ability.  I  know  of  nothing  better.  We 
must  give  ourselves  a  fair  trial  in  this  matter,  or  wc  can- 
not assuredly  know  whether  God  has  called  us  or  not ; 
and  during  the  probation  we  must  often  ask  ourselves 
whether,  upon  the  whole,  we  can  hope  to  edify  others 
with  such  discourses. 

We  must,  however,  do  much  more  than  put  it  to  our 
own  conscience  and  judgment,  for  wc  are  poor  judges. 
A  certain  class  of  brethren  have  a  great  facility  for  dis- 
covering that  they  have  been  A'cry  wonderfully  and 
divinely  helped  in  their  declamations  ;  I  should  envy 
them  their  glorious  liberty  and  self-complacency  if  there 
were  any  ground  for  it ;  for  alas  !  I  very  frequently  have 
to  bemoan  and  mourn  over  my  non-success  and  short- 
comings as  a  speaker.  There  is  not  much  dependence 
to  be  placed  upon  our  own  opinion,  but  mucli  may  be 
learned  from  judicious,  spiritual-minded  persons.  It  is 
by  no  means  a  law  which  ought  to  bind  all  persons,  but 
still  it  is  a  good  old  custom  in  many  of  our  country 
churches  for  the  young  man  who  aspires  to  the  ministry 
to  preach  before  the  church.  It  can  hardly  ever  be  a 
very  pleasant  ordeal  for  the  youthful  aspirant,  and,  iu 
many  cases,  it  will  scarcely  be  a  very  edifying  exercise 
for  the  people  ;  but  still  it  may  prove  a  most  sahitai'y 
piece  of  discipline  and  save  the  public  exposure  of  ram- 


CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY.  47 

pant  ignorance.     Tlic  church  book  at  Arnshy  coutaina 
tlie  following  entry  : 

A  sJiort  account  of  the  Call  of  Eohert  Hall,  Junior,  to  the  woik 
of  the  Ministry,  by  the  Church  at  Arnsby,  August  13, 1780. 

"  The  said  Robert  Hall  was  born  at  Arnsby,  May  2d,  17G4 ;  and 
was  even  from  bis  childhood,  not  only  serious,  and  given  to  secret 
prnyer  before  he  could  speak  plain,  but  was  wholly  inclined  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  He  began  to  compose  hymns  before  lie  was 
quite  seven  years  old,  and  therein  discovered  marks  of  piety,  deep 
thought,  and  genius.  Between  eight  and  nine  years  he  made 
several  hymns,  which  were  much  admired  by  many,  one  of  which 
was  printed  in  the  Gospel  Magazine  about  that  time.  He  wrote 
his  thoughts  on  various  religious  subjects,  and  select  portions  of 
Scripture.  He  was  likewise  possessed  of  an  intense  inclination 
for  learning,  and  made  such  progress  that  the  country  master 
under  whom  he  was  could  not  instruct  him  any  further.  He  was 
then  sent  to  Northampton  boarding  school,  under  the  care  of  Rev. 
John  Ryland,  where  he  continued  about  one  year  and  a-half,  and 
made  great  progress  in  Latin  and  Greek.  In  October,  1778,  he 
went  to  the  Academy  at  Bristol,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Mr, 
Evans  ;  and  on  August  13th,  1780,  was  sent  out  to  the  ministry 
by  this  church,  being  sixteen  years  and  three  months  old.  The 
manner  in  which  the  church  obtained  satisfaction  with  his  abili- 
ties for  the  great  work,  was  his  speaking  in  his  turn  at  conference 
meetings  from  various  portions  of  Scripture  ;  in  which,  and  iu 
prayer,  he  had  borne  a  part  for  upwards  of  four  years  before  ;  and 
having  when  at  home,  at  their  request,  preached  on  Lord's-day 
mornings,  to  their  great  satisfaction.  They  therefore  earnestly 
and  unanimously  requested  his  being  in  a  solemn  manner  set 
apart  to  public  employ.  Accordingly,  on  the  day  aforesaid,  he  was 
examined  by  his  father  before  the  church,  respecting  his  inclina- 
tion, motives,  and  end,  in  reference  to  the  ministry,  and  was  like- 
wise desired  to  make  a  declaration  of  his  religious  sentiments. 
All  which  being  done,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  church, 
they  therefore  set  him  apart  by  lifting  up  their  right  hands,  and 
by  solemn  prayer.  His  father  then  delivered  a  discourse  from 
2  Tim.  ii.  1.  '  Thou  therefore,  my  son,  be  strong  in  the  grace  that 
is  iu  Christ  Jesus.'    Being  thus  sent  fortli,  lie  [jreached  in  the  after- 


46  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

noon  from  2  Tliess.  i.  7,  8.    '  May  tlie  Lord  bless  liim,  and  grant 
liim  great  success  1 ' "  * 

Considerable  weight  is  to  be  given  to  the  judgment 
of  men  and  women  who  hve  near  to  God,  and  in  most 
instances  their  verdict  will  not  be  a  mistaken  one.  Yet 
this  appeal  is  not  final  nor  infallible,  and  is  only  to  be 
cstimntcd  in  proportion  to  the  intelligence  and  piety  of 
those  consulted.  I  remember  well  how  earnestly  I  was 
dissuaded  from  preaching  by  as  godly  a  Christian  matron 
as  ever  breathed  ;  the  value  of  her  opinion  I  endeavored 
to  estimate  with  candor  and  patience — but  i*"-  was  out- 
weighed by  the  judgment  of  persons  of  wider  experience. 
Young  men  in  doubt  will  do  well  to  take  with  them  their 
wisest  friends  when  next  they  go  out  to  the  country  chapel 
or  village  meeting-room  and  essay  to  deliver  the  Word. 
I  have  noted — and  our  venerable  friend,  Mr.  Rogers, 
has  observed  the  same — that  you,  gentlemen,  students, 
as  a  body,  in  your  judgment  of  one  another,  are  seldom 
if  ever  wrong.  There  has  hardly  ever  been  an  instance, 
take  the  whole  house  through,  where  the  general  o]n"nion 
of  the  entire  college  concerning  a  brother  has  been  erro- 
neous. Men  are  not  quite  so  nnable  to  form  an  opinion 
of  each  other  as  they  are  sometimes  supposed  to  be. 
Meeting  as  you  do  in  class,  in  prayer-meeting,  in  conver- 
sation, and  in  various  religious  engagements,  you  gauge 
each  other ;  and  a  wise  man  will  be  slow  to  set  aside  the 
verdict  of  the  house. 

I  should  not  complete  this  point  if  I  did  not  add, 
that  mere  ability  to  edify  and  aptness  to  teach  is  not 
enough,  there  must  be  other  talents  to  complete  the  pas- 
toral character.  Sound  judgment  and  solid  experience 
luust  instruct  you  ;  gentle  manners  and  loving  affections 

*  Biographical  Recollections  of  tLe  Rev.  Robert  Hall,  A.  M 
By  J.  M  Morris.     1833. 


CALL  TO   THE    MINISTRY.  49 

must  sway  3^011 ;  firmness  and  courage  must  be  manifest ; 
and  tenderness  and  sympathy  must  not  be  lacking.  Gifts 
administrative  in  ruling  well  will  be  as  requisite  as  gifts 
instructive  in  teaching  well.  You  must  be  fitted  to  lead, 
prepared  to  endure,  and  able  to  persevere.  In  grace, 
you  should  be  head  and  shoulders  above  the  rest  of  the 
people,  able  to  be  their  father  and  counsellor.  Head 
carefully  the  qualifications  of  a  bishop,  given  in  1  Tim. 
iii.  2-7,  and  in  Titus  i.  6-9.  If  such  gifts  and  graces 
be  not  in  you  and  abound,  it  may  be  possible  for  you  to 
succeed  as  an  evangelist,  but  as  a  pastor  you  will  be  of 
no  account. 

3.  In  order  further  to  prove  a  man's  call,  after  a  lit- 
tle exercise  of  his  gifts,  such  as  I  have  already  spoken  of, 
he  must  see  a  measure  of  conversion-worh  going  on  under 
his  efforts,  or  he  may  conclude  that  he  has  made  a  mis- 
take, and,  therefore,  may  go  back  by  the  best  way  he  can. 
It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  upon  the  first  or  even  twen- 
tieth effort  in  public  we  shall  be  apprized  of  success  ;  and 
a  man  may  even  give  himself  a  life  trial  of  preaching  if 
he  feels  called  to  do  so,  but  it  seems  to  me,  that  as  a  man 
to  be  set  apart  to  the  ministry,  his  commission  is  without 
seals  until  souls  are  won  by  his  instrumentality  to  the 
knowledge  of  Jesus.  As  a  worker,  he  is  to  work  on 
whether  he  succeeds  or  no,  but  as  a  minister  he  cannot 
be  sure  of  his  vocation  till  the  results  are  apparent.  How 
my  heart  leaped  for  joy  when  I  heard  the  tidings  of  my 
first  convert !  I  could  never  be  satisfied  with  a  full  con- 
gregation, and  the  kind  expressions  of  friends  ;  I  longed 
to  hear  that  hearts  had  been  broken,  that  tears  had  been 
Been  streaming  from  the  eyes  of  penitents.  How  did  I 
rejoice,  as  one  that  findeth  great  spoil,  over  one  j^oor 
laborer's  wife  who  confessed  that  she  felt  the  guilt  of  sin, 
and  had  found  the  Saviour  under  my  discourse  on 
3 


50  LECTURES  TO   MY    STUDENTS. 

Sunday  afternoon  :  I  have  the  cottage  in  which  she 
lived  in  my  eye  now  ;  believe  me,  it  always  appears  pic- 
turesque, I  remember  well  her  being  received  into  the 
church,  and  her  dying,  and  her  going  home  to  heaven. 
She  was  the  first  seal  to  my  ministry,  and,  I  can  assure 
you,  a  very  precious  one  indeed,  No  mother  was  ever 
more  full  of  happiness  at  the  sight  of  her  first-born  son. 
Then  could  I  have  sung  the  song  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  for 
my  soul  did  magnify  the  Lord  for  remembering  my  low 
estate,  and  giving  me  the  great  honor  to  do  a  work  for 
which  all  generations  should  call  me  blessed,  for  so  I 
counted  the  conversion  of  one  soul.  There  must  be  some 
measure  of  conversion-work  in  your  irregular  labors  be- 
fore you  can  believe  that  preaching  is  to  be  your  life-work. 
Remember  the  Lord's  words  by  the  prophet  Jeremiah  ; 
they  are  all  very  much  to  the  point,  and  should  alarm  all 
fruitless  preachers.  "I  have  not  sent  these  prophets, 
yet  they  ran  ;  I  have  not  spoken  to  them,  yet  they  proph- 
esied. But  if  they  had  stood  in  my  counsel,  and  had 
caused  my  people  to  hear  my  words,  then  they  should 
liave  turned  them  from  their  evil  way,  and  from  the  evil 
of  their  doings.'  Jer.  xxiii.  21,  22.  It  is  a  marvel  to 
me  how  men  continue  at  ease  in  preaching  year  after  year 
Avithout  conversions.  Have  they  no  bowels  of  compassion 
for  others  ?  no  sense  of  responsibility  upon  themselves  ? 
Dare  they,  by  a  vain  misrepresentation  of  divine  sover- 
eignty, cast  the  blame  on  their  Master  ?  Or  is  it  their 
belief  that  Paul  plants  and  Apollos  waters,  and  that  God 
gives  no  increase  ?  Vain  are  their  talents,  their  philos- 
ophy, their  rhetoric,  and  even  their  orthodoxy,  without 
the  signs  following.  How  are  they  sent  of  God  who  bring 
no  men  to  God  ?  Prophets  whose  words  are  powerless, 
sowers  whose  seed  all  withers,  fishers  who  take  no  fish, 
soldiers  who  sive  no  wounds — are  these  God's  men  ? 


CALL  TO  THE   MINISTRY.  51 

Surely  it  were  better  to  be  a  mud-raker,  or  a  chimney- 
sweep, tliau  to  stand  in  the  ministry  as  an  utterly  barren 
tree.  The  meanest  occupation  confers  some  benefit  upon 
mankind,  but  the  wretched  man  who  occupies  a  pulpit 
and  never  glorfiies  his  God  by  conversions  is  a  blank,  a 
blot,  an  eyesore,  a  mischief.  lie  is  not  worth  the  salt  he 
eats,  much  less  his  bread  ;  and  if  he  writes  to  newspapers 
to  complain  of  the  smallness  of  his  salary,  his  conscience, 
if  he  has  any,  might  well  reply,  ''And  what  you  have  is 
undeserved."  Times  of  drought  there  may  be  ;  ay,  and 
years  of  leanness  may  consume  the  former  years  of  use- 
fulness, but  still  there  will  be  fruit  in  the  main,  and  fruit 
to  the  glory  of  God  ;  and  meanwhile  the  transient  bar- 
renness will  fill  the  soul  with  unutterable  anguish. 
Bretliren,  if  the  Lord  gives  you  no  zeal  for  souls,  keep 
to  the  lapstone  or  the  trowel,  but  avoid  the  j)ulpit  as  you 
value  your  heart's  peace  and  your  future  salvation. 

4.  A  step  beyond  all  this  is  however  needful  in  our 
inquiry.  The  will  of  the  Lord  concerning  pastors  is 
made  known  through  the  prayerful  judgment  of  his 
church.  It  is  needful  as  a  proof  of  your  vocation  that 
your  preacliing  should  he  acceptable  to  the  people  of  God. 
God  usually  opens  doors  of  utterance  for  those  whom  he 
calls  to  speak  in  his  name.  Impatience  would  push  open 
or  break  down  the  door,  but  faith  waits  upon  the  Lord, 
and  in  due  season  her  opportunity  is  awarded  her. 
When  the  opportunity  comes  then  comes  our  trial. 
Standing  up  to  preach,  our  spirit  will  be  Judged  of  the 
assembly,  and  if  it  be  condemned,  or  if,  as  a  general  rule, 
the  church  is  not  edified,  the  conclusion  may  not  be  dis- 
puted, that  we  are  not  sent  of  God.  The  signs  and 
marks  of  a  true  bishop  are  laid  doAvn  in  the  "Word  for 
the  guidance  of  the  church  ;  and  if  in  following  such 
guidance  the  brethren  sec  not  in  us  the  qualifications. 


52  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

aud  do  not  elect  us  to  office,  it  is  plain  enough  that  how- 
ever well  we  may  evangelize,  the  office  of  the  pastor  is 
not  for  us.  Churches  are  not  all  wise,  neither  do  they 
all  judge  in  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  many  of 
them  judge  after  the  flesh  ;  yet  I  had  sooner  accept  the 
opinion  of  a  company  of  the  Lord's  people  than  my  own 
upon  so  personal  a  subject  as  my  own  gifts  and  graces. 
At  any  rate,  whether  you  value  the  verdict  of  the  church 
or  no,  one  thing  is  certain,  that  none  of  you  can  be  pas- 
tors without  the  loving  consent  of  the  flock  ;  and  therefore 
this  will  be  to  you  a  practical  indicator  if  not  a  correct 
one.  If  your  call  from  the  Lord  he  a  real  one  you  will 
not  long  be  silent.  As  surely  as  the  man  wants  his  hour, 
so  surely  the  hour  wants  its  man.  The  church  of  God 
is  always  urgently  in  need  of  living  ministers  ;  to  her  a 
man  is  always  more  precious  than  the  gold  of  Ophir. 
Formal  officials  do  lack  and  suffer  hunger,  hut  the 
anointed  of  the  Lord  need  never  be  without  a  charge, 
for  there  are  quick  ears  which  will  know  them  by  their 
speech,  and  ready  hearts  welcome  them  to  their  appointed 
place.  Jie  fit  for  your  work,  and  you  will  never  be  out 
of  it.  Do  not  ru"A  about  inviting  yourselves  to  preach 
here  and  there  ;  be  more  concerned  about  your  ability 
than  your  opportunity,  and  more  earnest  about  your 
walk  with  God  than  about  either.  The  sheep  Avill  know 
the  God-sent  shepherd  ;  the  porter  of  the  fold  will  open 
to  you,  and  the  flock  will  know  your  voice. 

At  the  time  of  the  first  delivery  of  this  lecture,  I  had 
not  read  John  Newton's  admirable  letter  to  a  friend  on 
this  subject ;  it  so  nearly  tallies  with  my  own  thoughts, 
that  at  the  risk  of  being  thought  to  be  a  copyist,  which 
I  certainly  am  not  in  this  instance,  I  will  read  you 
the  letter  : 

**  Your  case  reminds  me  of  my  own  ;  my  first  desires 


CALL  TO   THE   MINISTRY.  53 

towards  the  ministry  were  attended  with  great  uncer- 
tainties and  difficulties,  and  the  perplexity  of  my  own 
mind  was  heightened  by  the  various  and  opposite  judg- 
ments of  my  friends.  The  advice  I  have  to  offer  is  the 
result  of  painful  experience  and  exercise,  and  for  this 
reason,  perhaps,  may  not  be  unacceptable  to  you.  I  pray 
our  gracious  Lord  to  make  it  useful. 

"  I  was  long  distressed,  as  you  are,  about  what  was 
or  was  not  a  proper  call  to  the  ministry.  It  now  seems 
to  me  an  easy  point  to  solve  ;  but,  perhaps,  it  will  not 
be  so  to  you,  till  the  Lord  shall  make  it  clear  to  your- 
self in  your  own  case.  I  have  not  room  to  say  so  much 
as  I  could.  In  brief,  I  think  it  principally  includes 
three  things  : 

''1.  A  warm  and  earnest  desire  to  be  employed  in 
this  service.  I  apprehend  the  man  who  is  once  moved 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  this  work,  will  prefer  it,  if  at- 
tainable, to  thousands  of  gold  and  silver  ;  so  that,  though 
he  is  at  times  intimidated  by  a  sense  of  its  importance 
and  difficulty,  compared  with  his  own  great  insufficiency 
(for  it  is  to  be  presumed  a  call  of  this  sort,  if  indeed 
from  God,  will  be  accompanied  with  humility  and  self- 
abasement),  yet  he  cannot  give  it  up.  I  hold  it  a  good 
rule  to  inquire  in  this  point,  whether  the  desire  to  preach 
is  most  fervent  in  our  most  lively  and  spiritual  frames, 
and  when  we  are  most  laid  in  the  dust  before  the  Lord? 
If  so,  it  is  a  good  sign.  But  if,  as  is  sometimes  the 
case,  a  person  is  very  earnest  to  be  a  preacher  to  others, 
when  he  finds  but  little  hungerings  and  thirstings  after 
grace  in  his  own  soul,  it  is  then  to  be  feared  his  zeal 
springs  rather  from  a  selfish  principle  than  from  the 
Spirit  of  God. 

"  2.  Besides  this  affectionate  desire  and  readiness 
to  preach,  there  must  in  due  season  appear  some  com- 


64  LECTUKES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

petent  sufficiency  as  to  ^fts,  knowledge,  and  utterance. 
Surely,  if  the  Lord  sends  a  man  to  teach  others,  he  will 
furnish  him  with  the  means.  I  believe  many  have  in- 
tended Avell  in  setting  up  for  preachers,  who  yet  went 
beyond  or  before  their  call  in  so  doing.  The  main  dif- 
ference between  a  minister  and  a  private  Christian,  seems 
to  consist  in  those  ministerial  gifts,  which  are  imparted 
to  him,  not  for  his  own  sake,  but  for  the  edification  of 
others.  But  then  I  say  these  are  to  appear  in  due  season; 
they  are  not  to  be  expected  instantaneously,  but  grad- 
ually, in  the  use  of  proper  means.  They  are  necessary 
for  the  discharge  of  the  ministry,  but  not  necessary  as 
prerequisites  to  warrant  our  desires  after  it.  In  your 
case,  you  are  young,  and  have  time  before  you  ;  there- 
fore, I  think  you  need  not  as  yet  perplex  yourself  with 
inquiring  if  you  have  these  gifts  already.  It  is  sufficient 
if  your  desire  is  fixed,  and  you  are  willing,  in  the  way  of 
praying  and  diligence,  to  wait  upon  the  Lord  for  them  ; 
as  yet  you  need  them  not.* 

"  3.  That  which  finally  evidences  a  proper  call,  is 
a  correspondent  opening  in  providence,  by  a  gradual  train 
of  circumstances  pointing  out  the  means,  the  time,  the 
place,  of  actually  entering  upon  the  work.  And  until 
tills  coincidence  arrives,  you  must  not  expect  to  be  always 
clear  from  hesitation  in  your  own  mind.  The  principal 
caution  on  this  head  is,  not  to  be  too  hasty  in  catching 
at  first  appearances.  If  it  be  the  Lord's  will  to  bring 
you  into  his  ministry,  he  has  already  appointed  your 
place  and  service,  and  though  you  know  it  not  at  present, 
you  shall  at  a  proper  time.  If  you  had  the  talents  of  an 
angel,  you  could  do  no  good  with  them  till  his  hour  ie 

*  We  should  hesitate  to  speak  precisely  in  this  manner.  The 
gifts  must  be  somewhat  apparent  before  the  desire  should  be  en- 
couraged.    Still  in  the  main  we  agree  with  Mr.  Newton. 


CALL  TO   THE   MINISTRY.  55 

come,  and  till  lie  leads  you  to  the  people  Avliom  he  has 
dctermiued  to  bless  by  your  means.  It  is  very  difficult 
to  restrain  ourselves  within  the  bounds  of  prudence  here, 
when  our  zeal  is  warm  :  a  sense  of  the  love  of  Christ 
upon  our  hearts,  and  a  tender  compassion  for  poor  sin- 
ueis,  is  ready  to  prompt  us  to  break  out  too  soon  ;  but 
he  that  believeth  shall  not  make  haste.  I  was  about 
five  years  under  this  constraint ;  sometimes  I  thought  I 
must  preach,  though  it  was  in  the  streets.  I  listened  to 
everything  that  seemed  plausible,  and  to  many  things 
which  were  not  so.  But  the  Lord  graciously,  and  as  it 
were  insensibly,  hedged  up  my  way  with  thorns  ;  other- 
wise, if  I  had  been  left  to  my  own  spirit,  I  should  have 
put  it  quite  out  of  my  power  to  have  been  brought  into 
such  a  S2)liere  of  usefulness,  as  he  in  his  good  time  has 
been  jileased  to  lead  me  to.  And  I  can  now  see  clearly, 
that  at  the  time  I  would  first  have  gone  out,  though  my 
intention  was,  I  hope,  good  in  the  main,  yet  I.  overrated 
myself,  and  had  not  that  spiritual  judgment  and  expe- 
rience which  are  requisite  for  so  great  a  service." 

Thus  much  may  suffice,  but  the  same  subjects  Avill 
be  before  you  if  I  detail  a  little  of  my  experience  in  deal- 
ing Avith  aspirants  for  the  ministry.  I  have  constantly 
to  fulfil  the  duty  which  fell  to  the  lot  of  Cromwell's 
Triers.  I  have  to  form  an  opinion  as  to  the  advisability 
of  aiding  certain  men  in  their  attempts  to  become  pas- 
tors. This  is  a  most  responsible  duty,  and  one  which 
requires  no  ordinary  care.  Of  course,  I  do  not  set  my- 
eelf  up  to  judge  whether  a  man  shall  enter  the  ministry 
or  not,  but  my  examination  merely  aims  at  answering 
the  question  whether  this  institution  shall  help  him,  or 
leave  him  to  his  own  resources.  Certain  of  our  charita- 
ble neighbors  accuse  us  of  having  '*  a  parson  manufac- 


66  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDEJTTS. 

tory  "  here,  but  the  cliarge  is  not  true  at  all.  We  never 
tried  to  make  a  minister,  and  should  fail  if  we  did;  we 
receive  none  into  the  College  but  those  who  profess  to 
be  ministers  already.  It  would  be  nearer  the  truth  if 
they  called  me  a  parson  killer,  for  a  goodly  number  of 
beginners  have  received  their  quietus  from  me  ;  and  I 
have  the  fullest  ease  of  conscience  in  reflecting  upon 
what  I  have  so  done.  It  has  always  been  a  hard  task  for 
me  to  discourage  a  hopeful  young  brother  who  has  applied 
for  admission  to  the  College.  My  heart  has  always 
leaned  to  the  kindest  side,  but  duty  to  the  churches  has 
compelled  me  to  judge  with  severe  discrimination.  After 
hearing  what  the  candidate  has  had  to  say,  having  read 
his  testimonials  and  seen  his  replies  to  questions,  when  I 
have  felt  convinced  that  the  Lord  had  not  called  him,  I 
have  been  obliged  to  tell  him  so.  Certain  of  the  cases 
are  types  of  all.  Young  brethren  apply  Avho  earnestly 
desire  to  enter  the  ministry,  but  it  is  painfully  apparent 
that  their  main  motive  is  an  ambitious  desire  to  shine 
among  men.  Tliese  men  are,  from  a  common  point  of 
vicAV,  to  be  commended  for  aspiring  ;  but  then  the  pul- 
pit is  never  to  be  the  ladder  by  which  ambition  is  to 
climb.  Had  such  men  entered  the  army  they  would 
never  have  been  satisfied  till  they  had  reached  the  front 
rank,  for  they  are  determined  to  push  their  way  up — all 
very  laudable  and  very  proper  so  far  ;  but  they  have  em- 
braced the  idea  that  if  they  entered  the  ministry  they 
Avould  be  greatly  distinguished  ;  they  have  felt  the  bud- 
dings of  genius,  and  have  regarded  themselves  as  greater 
than  ordinary  persons,  and,  therefore,  they  have  looked 
upon  the  ministry  as  a  platform  upon  which  to  display 
their  supposed  abilities.  Whenever  this  has  been  visible 
I  have  felt  bound  to  leave  the  man  "  to  gang  his  aiu 
gate,"  as  the  Scotch  say  ;   believing  that  such  spirits 


CALL  TO  THE   MI^TISTKY.  57 

alwaj's  come  to  nought  if  tliey  enter  the  Lord's  service. 
We  find  that  we  have  nothing  whereof  to  glory,  and  if 
we  had,  the  very  worst  place  in  which  to  hang  it  out 
Avon  Id  be  a  pulpit ;  for  there  we  are  brought  daily  to 
feel  our  own  insignificance  and  nothingness. 

Men  who  since  conversion  have  betrayed  great  fee- 
bleness of  mind  and  are  readily  led  to  embrace  strange 
doctrines,  or  to  fall  into  evil  company  and  gross  sin,  I 
never  can  find  it  in  my  heart  to  encourage  to  enter  the 
ministry,  let  their  professions  be  what  they  may.  Let 
them,  if  truly  penitent,  keep  in  the  rear  ranks.  Unstable 
as  water,  they  will  not  excel. 

So,  too,  those  who  cannot  endure  hardness,  but  are 
of  the  kid-glove  order,  I  refer  elsewhere.  We  want 
soldiers,  not  fops,  earnest  laborers,  not  genteel  loiterers. 
Men  who  have  done  nothing  up  to  their  time  of  appli- 
cation to  the  college,  are  told  to  earn  their  spurs  before 
they  are  publicly  dubbed  as  knights.  Fervent  lovers  of 
souls  do  not  wait  till  they  are  trained,  they  serve  their 
Lord  at  once. 

Certain  good  men  appeal  to  me  who  are  distinguished 
by  enormous  vehemence  and  zeal,  and  a  conspicuous 
absence  of  brains  ;  brethren  who  would  talk  for  ever  and 
ever  upon  nothing — who  would  stamp  and  thump  the 
Bible,  and  get  nothing  out  of  it  all ;  earnest,  awfully 
earnest,  mountains  in  labor  of  the  most  painful  kind  ; 
but  nothing  comes  of  it  all,  not  even  thej^idictihis  mus. 
There  are  zealots  abroad  who  are  not  capable  of  conceiv- 
ing or  uttering  five  consecutive  thoughts,  whose  capacity 
is  most  narrow  and  their  conceit  most  broad,  and  these 
can  hammer,  and  bawl,  and  rave,  and  tear,  and  rage,  but 
the  noise  all  arises  from  the  hollowness  of  the  drum.  I 
conceive  that  these  brethren  will  do  quite  as  well  without 
3* 


58  LECTURES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

education  as  with  it,  and  therefore  I  have  usually  deeliued 
their  applications. 

Another  exceedingly  large  class  of  men  seek  tlie  pulpit 
they  knoAv  not  wliy.  'They  cannot  teacli  and  will  not 
learn,  and  yet  must  fain  be  ministers.  Like  the  man 
who  slept  on  Parnassus,  and  ever  after  imagined  himself 
a  poet,  they  have  had  impudence  enough  once  to  tlirust 
a  sermon  upon  an  audience,  and  now  nothing  will  do 
but  preaching.  They  are  so  hasty  to  leave  off  sewing 
garments,  that  they  will  make  a  rent  in  the  church  of 
which  they  are  members,  to  accomplish  their  design. 
The  counter  is  distasteful,  and  a  pulpit  cushion  is  coveted  ; 
the  scales  and  weights  they  are  weary  of,  and  must  needs 
try  their  hands  at  the  balances  of  the  sanctuary.  Such 
men,  like  raging  waves  of  the  sea,  usually  foam  forth  their 
own  shame,  and  we  are  happy  when  we  bid  them  adieu. 

Physical  infirmities  raise  a  question  about  the  call  of 
some  excellent  men.  I  would  not,  like  Eusthenes,  judge 
men  by  their  features,  but  their  general  physique  is  no 
small  criterion.  That  narrow  chest  does  not  indicate 
a  man  formed  for  public  speech.  You  may  think 
it  odd,  but  still  I  feel  very  Avell  assured,  that  when  a 
man  has  a  contracted  chest,  with  no  distance  between 
his  shoulders,  the  all-wise  Creator  did  not  intend  him 
habitually  to  preach.  If  he  had  meant  him  to  speak  he 
would  have  given  him  in  some  measure  breadth  of  chest 
sufficient  to  yield  a  reasonable  amount  of  lung  force. 
AYhen  the  Lord  means  a  creature  to  run,  he  gives  it 
]iimble  legs,  and  if  he  means  another  creature  to  i)reacli, 
he  will  give  it  suitable  lungs.  A  brother  who  has  to 
pause  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence  and  work  his  air-pump, 
ehould  ask  himself  whether  there  is  not  some  other  occu- 
pation for  which  he  is  better  adapted.  A  man  who  can 
scarcely  get  through  a  sentence  without  pain,  can  hardly 


CALL   TO   THE   MINISTRY.  59 

be  called  to  "  Cry  aloud  and  spare  not."  There  may  be 
exceptions,  but  is  there  not  weight  in  the  general  rule  ? 
Brethren  witli  defective  mouths  and  imperfect  articulation 
are  not  usually  called  to  preach  the  gospel.  The  same 
apijlies  to  brethren  with  no  palate,  or  an  imperfect  one. 

Application  was  received  some  short  time  ago  from  a 
young  man  who  had  a  sort  of  rotary  action  of  his  jaw  of 
the  most  painful  sort  to  the  beholder.  His  j^astor  com- 
mended him  as  a  very  holy  young  man,  who  had  been 
the  means  of  bringing  some  to  Christ,  and  he  expressed 
the  hope  that  I  would  receive  him,  but  I  could  not  see 
the  pro})riety  of  it.  I  could  not  have  looked  at  him  while 
preaching,  without  laughter,  if  all  the  gold  of  Tarshish 
had  been  my  reward,  and  in  all  probability  nine  out  of  ton 
of  his  hearers  would  have  been  more  sensitive  than  myself. 
A  man  with  a  big  tongue  which  filled  up  his  mouth  and 
caused  indistinctness,  another  without  teeth,  another  who 
stammei'ed,  another  who  could  not  pronounce  all  the 
alphabet,  I  have  had  the  pain  of  declining  on  the  ground 
that  God  had  not  given  them  those  physical  appliances, 
which  are,  as  the  prayer-book  would  put  it,  ''gen- 
erally necessary. " 

One  brother  I  have  encountered — one  did  I  say  ?  I 
have  met  ten,  twenty,  a  hundred  brethren,  who  have 
pleaded  that  they  were  sure,  quite  sure  that  they  were 
called  to  the  ministry — they  were  cpiite  certain  of  it,  be- 
cause they  had  failed  in  everything  else.  This  is  a  sort 
of  model  story  :  "  Sir,  I  was  put  into  a  lawyer's  office, 
but  I  could  never  bear  the  confinement,  and  I  could  not 
feel  at  home  studying  law  ;  Providence  clearly  stopped 
up  my  road,  for  I  lost  my  situation.  "  "  And  what  did 
you  do  then  ?  "  Why  sir,  I  was  induced  to  open  a  grocer's 
shop."  "  And  did  you  prosper?  "  "  "Well,  I  do  not  think, 
sir,  I  was  ever  meant  for  trade,  and  the  Lord  seemed  quite 


60  LECTUEES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

to  shut  my  way  up  there,  for  I  failed  and  was  in  great 
difficulties.  Since  then  I  have  done  a  little  in  life-assur- 
ance agency,  and  tried  to  get  up  a  school,  besides  selling 
tea  ;  but  my  path  is  hedged  up,  and  something  within 
me  makes  me  feel  that  I  ought  to  be  a  minister."  My 
answer  generally  is,  ''Yes,  I  see  ;  you  hare  failed  in 
everything  else,  and  therefore  you  think  the  Lord  has 
especially  endowed  you  for  his  service ;  but  I  fear  you 
have  forgotten  that  the  ministry  needs  the  very  best  of 
men,  and  not  those  who  cannot  do  anything  else."  A 
man  who  would  succeed  as  a  preacher  would  probably  do 
right  well  either  as  a  grocer,  or  a  lawyer,  or  anything  else. 
A  really  valuable  minister  would  have  excelled  at  any- 
thing. There  is  scarcely  anything  impossible  to  a  man 
who  can  keep  a  congregation  together  for  years,  and  be 
the  means  of  edifying  them  for  hundreds  of  consecutive 
Sabbaths  ;  he  must  be  possessed  of  some  abilities,  and  be 
by  no  means  a  fool  or  ne'er-do-well.  Jesus  Christ  de- 
serves the  best  men  to  preach  his  cross,  and  not  the 
empty-headed  and  the  shiftless. 

One  young  gentleman  with  whose  presence  I  was  once 
honored,  has  left  on  my  mind  the  photograph  of  his  ex- 
quisite self.  That  same  face  of  his  looked  like  the  title- 
page  to  a  whole  volume  of  conceit  and  deceit.  He  sent 
word  into  my  vestry  one  Sabbath  morning  that  he  must  see 
me  at  once.  His  audacity  admitted  him ;  and  when  he 
was  before  me  he  said,  "  Sir,  I  want  to  enter  your  College, 
and  should  like  to  enter  it  at  once."  "  Well,  sir,"  said  I, 
**  I  fear  we  have  no  room  for  you  at  present,  but  your 
case  shall  be  considered."  "But  mine  is  a  very  remark- 
able case,  sir  ;  you  have  probably  never  received  such  an 
application  as  mine  before. "  "  Very  good,  we'll  see  about 
it ;  the  secretary  will  give  you  one  of  the  application 
papers,  and  you  can  see  me  on  Monday."     He  came  on 


CALL  TO  THE   MINISTRY.  61 

the  Monday  bringing  with  liim  the  questions,  answered  in  a 
most  extraordinary  manner.  As  to  books,  he  claimed  to 
have  read  all  ancient  and  modern  literature,  and  after 
giving  an  immense  list  he  added,  "  this  is  but  a  selection  ; 
I  have  read  most  extensively  in  all  departments."  As  to 
his  preaching,  he  could  produce  the  highest  testimonials, 
but  hardly  thought  they  would  be  needed,  as  a  personal 
interview  would  convince  me  of  his  ability  at  once.  Ilis 
surprise  was  great  when  I  said,  *'  Sir,  I  am  obliged  to  tell 
you  that  I  cannot  receive  you."  "  Why  not,  sir  ?  " 
"I  will  tell  you  plainly.  You  are  so  dreadfully  clever 
that  I  could  not  insult  you  by  receiving  you  into  our 
College,  where  we  have  none  but  rather  ordinary  men ; 
the  president,  tutors,  and  students,  are  all  men  of  mod- 
erate attainments,  and  you  would  have  to  condescend  too 
much  in  coming  among  us."  He  looked  at  me  severely, 
and  said  with  dignity,  "  Do  you  mean  to  say,  that  because 
I  have  an  unusual  genius,  and  have  produced  in  myself  a 
gigantic  mind  such  as  is  rarely  seen,  I  am  refused  admit- 
tance into  your  College."  "  Yes,"  I  replied,  as  calmly  as  I 
could,  considering  the  overpowering  awe  which  his  genius 
inspired,  "for  that  very  reason."  "  Then,  sir,  you  ought 
to  allow  me  a  trial  of  my  preaching  abilities  ;  select  me 
any  text  you  like,  or  suggest  any  subject  you  please,  and 
here  in  this  very  room  I  will  speak  upon  it,  or  preach 
upon  it  without  the  slightest  deliberation,  and  you  will 
be  surprised."  *'No,  thank  you,  I  would  rather  not 
have  the  trouble  of  listening  to  you."  "  Trouble,  sir  I 
I  assure  you  it  would  be  the  greatest  possible  pleasure 
you  could  have."  I  said  it  might  be,  but  I  felt  myself 
unworthy  of  the  privilege,  and  so  bade  him  a  long  fare- 
well. The  gentleman  was  unknown  to  me  at  the  time, 
but  he  has  since  figured  in  the  police  court  as  too  clever 
by  half. 


62  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDEK"TS. 

"We  have  occasionally  had  applications  at  wliicli,  per- 
haps, you  would  be  amazed,  from  men  who  are  evidently 
fluent  enough,  and  who  answer  all  our  questions  very 
well,  except  those  upon  their  doctrinal  views,  to  which 
repeatedly  we  have  had  this  answer  :  "  Mr.  So-and-so  is 
prepared  to  receive  the  doctrines  of  the  College  whatever 
they  may  be  !  "  In  all  such  cases  we  never  deliberate  a 
moment,  the  instantaneous  negative  is  given.  I  mention 
it  because  it  illustrates  our  conviction  that  men  are  not 
called  to  the  ministry  who  have  no  knowledge  and  no 
definite  belief.  When  young  fellows  say  that  they  have 
not  made  ap  their  minds  upon  theology,  they  ought  to 
go  back  to  the  Sunday-school  until  they  have.  For  a  man 
to  come  shuffling  into  a  College,  pretending  that  he  holds 
his  mind  open  to  any  form  of  truth,  and  that  he  is  emi- 
nently receptive,  but  has  not  settled  in  his  mind  such 
things  as  whether  God  has  an  election  of  grace,  or  whether 
he  loves  his  people  to  the  end,  seems  to  me  to  bo  a  per- 
fect monstrosity.  "  Not  a  novice,"  says  the  apostle  ;  yet 
a  man  who  has  not  made  up  his  mind  on  siich  points  as 
these,  is  confessedly  and  egregiously  "a  novice,"  and 
ought  to  be  relegated  to  the  catechism-class  till  he  has 
learned  the  first  truths  of  the  gospel. 

After  all,  gentlemen,  we  shall  have  to  prove  our  call 
by  the  practical  proof  of  our  ministiy  in  after  life,  and  it 
will  be  a  lamentable  thing  for  us  to  start  in  our  course 
without  due  examination  ;  for  if  so,  we  m^ay  have  to  leave 
it  in  disgrace.  On  the  whole,  experience  is  our  surest 
test,  and  if  God  upholds  us  from  year  to  year,  and  gives 
ns  his  blessing,  we  need  make  no  other  trial  of  our  voca- 
tion. Our  moral  and  spiritual  fitnesses  will  be  tried  by 
the  labor  of  our  ministry,  and  this  is  the  most  trustworthy 
of  all  tests.  From  some  one  or  other  I  heard  in  conversa- 
tion of  a  plan  adopted  by  Matthew  Wilks,  for  examining 


CALL  TO  THE   MINISTRY.  63 

a  young  man  who  wanted  to  be  a  missionary  ;  the  drift, 
if  not  the  detail  of  the  test,  commends  itself  to  my  judg- 
ment though  not  to  my  taste.  The  young  man  desired 
to  go  to  India  as  a  missionary  in  connection  with  th 
London  Missionary  Society.  Mr.  Wilks  was  apiwinted 
to  consider  his  fitness  for  such  a  post.  He  wrote  to  the 
young  man,  and  told  him  to  call  upon  him  at  six  o'clock 
the  next  morning.  The  brother  lived  many  miles  off, 
but  he  was  at  the  house  at  six  o'clock  punctually.  Mr. 
Wilks  did  not,  however,  enter  the  room  till  hours  after. 
The  brother  waited  wonderingly,  but  patiently.  At  last 
Mr.  Wilks  arrived,  and  addressed  the  candidate  thus,  in 
his  usual  nasal  tones,  ''Well,  young  man,  so  you  want 
to  be  a  missionary  ?'*  "Yes,  sir."  "Do  you  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?"  "  Yes,  sir,  I  hope  I  do."  "  And 
have  you  had  any  education?"  "  Yes,  sir,  a  little." 
"  Well,  now,  we'll  try  you  ;  can  you  spell  *  cat '  ?  "  The 
young  man  looked  confused,  and  hardly  knew  how  to 
answer  so  preposterous  a  question.  Ilis  mind  evidently 
halted  between  indignation  and  submission,  but  in  a 
moment  he  replied  steadily,  "  C,  a,  t,  cat."  "Very 
good,"  said  Mr.  Wilks;  "now,  can  you  spell  "dog'  ?" 
Our  young  martyr  hesitated,  but  Mr.  Wilks  said  in  his 
coolest  manner,  "  Oh,  never  mind  ;  don't  be  bashful ; 
you  spelt  the  other  word  so  well  that  I  should  think  you 
will  be  able  to  spell  this  :  high  as  the  attainment  is,  it 
is  not  so  elevated  but  what  you  might  do  it  without 
blushing."  The  youthful  Job  replied,  "  D,  o,  g,  dog." 
"  Well,  that  is  right ;  I  see  you  will  do  in  your  spelling, 
and  now  for  your  arithmetic  ;  how  many  are  tvfiee  two  ?  " 
It  is  a  wonder  that  Mr.  Wilks  did  not  receive  "twice 
two  "  after  the  fashion  of  muscular  Christianity,  but  the 
patient  youth  gave  the  right  reply  and  was  dismissed, 
Matthew  Wilks  at  the  committee  meeting  said,  "  I  cor- 


64        "  LECTURES  TO  MY  STUDEKTS. 

dially  recommend  that  young  man  ;  his  testimonials  and 
character  I  have  duly  examined,  and  besides  that,  I  have 
h»9e  given  him  a  rare  personal  trial  such  as  few  could 
bear.  I  tried  his  self-denial,  he  was  up  in  the  morning 
early  ;  I  tried  liis  temper,  and  I  tried  his  humility  ;  he 
can  spell  'cat'  and  '  dog,'  and  can  tell  that  'twice  two 
make  four,'  and  he  will  do  for  a  missionary  exceedingly 
well."  Now,  what  tlie  old  gentleman  is  thus  said  to  have 
done  with  exceedingly  bad  taste,  we  may  Avith  much  pro- 
priety do  with  ourselves.  "We  must  try  whether  we  can 
endure  brow-beating,  weariness,  slander,  jeering,  hard- 
ship ;  and  whether  we  can  be  made  the  off-scouring  of  all 
tilings,  and  be .  treated  as  nothing  for  Christ's  sake.  It 
we  can  endure  all  these,  we  have  some  of  those  points 
which  indicate  the  possession  of  the  rare  qualities  which 
should  meet  in  a  true  servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
I  gravely  question  whether  some  of  us  will  find  our  ves- 
sels, when  far  out  at  sea,  to  be  quite  so  seaworthy  as  we 
think  them.  0  my  brethren,  make  sure  work  of  it  while 
you  are  yet  in  this  retreat ;  and  diligently  labor  to  fit 
yourselves  for  your  high  calling.  You  will  have  trials 
enough,  and  woe  to  you  if  you  do  not  go  forth  armed 
from  head  to  foot  Avith  armor  of  proof.  You  Avill  have 
to  run  Avith  horsemen,  let  not  the  footmen  Aveary  you 
Avliile  in  your  i^reliminary  studies.  The  devil  is  abroad, 
and  with  him  are  many.  ProA'e  your  own  selves,  and 
may  the  Lord  j)repare  you  for  the  crucible  and  the  fur- 
nace Avhich  assuredly  aAvait  you.  Your  tribulation  may 
not  in  all  respects  be  so  severe  as  that  of  Paul  and  his 
companions,  but  you  must  be  ready  for  a  like  ordeal. 
Let  me  read  you  his  memorable  words,  and  let  me  entreat 
you  to  pray,  while  you  hear  them,  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
may  strengthen  you  for  all  that  lies  before  you.  "  Giving 
no  cffence  in  anything,  that  the  ministry  be  not  blamed  : 


CALL  TO   THE   MIJflSTRT.  Go 

but  in  all  things  approving  ourselves  as  the  ministers  of 
God,  in  much  patience,  in  affliction,  in  necessities,  in 
distresses,  in  stripes,  in  imprisonments,  in  tumults,  in 
labors,  in  watcliings,  in  fastings  ;  by  pureness,  by  knowl- 
edge, by  long-suffering,  by  kindness,  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
by  love  unfeigned,  by  the  word  of  truth,  by  the  power 
of  God,  by  the  armor  of  righteousness  on  the  right  hand 
and  on  the  left,  by  honor  and  dishonor,  by  evil  report 
and  good  report  :  as  deceivers,  and  yet  true  ;  as  unknown, 
and  yet  well  known  ;  as  dying,  and,  behold,  we  live  ;  as 
chastened,  and  not  killed  ;  as  sorrowful,  yet  always  re- 
joicing ;  as  poor,  yet  making  many  rich  ;  as  having 
nothing,  and  yet  possessing  all  things." 


LECTURE   HI. 

THE   PEE  ACKER'S   PRIVATE   PRAYER. 

Of  course  the  preacher  is  above  all  others  distinguished 
as  a  man  of  prayer.  He  prays  as  an  ordinary  Christian, 
else  he  were  a  hypocrite.  He  prays  more  than  ordinary 
Christians,  else  he  were  disqualified  for  the  office  which 
he  has  undertaken.  "  It  would  be  wholly  monstrous," 
says  Bernard,  "  for  a  man  to  be  highest  in  office  and 
lowest  in  soul ;  first  in  station  and  last  in  life."  Over  all 
his  other  relationships  the  preeminence  of  the  pastor's 
responsibility  casts  a  halo,  and  if  true  to  his  Master,  he 
becomes  distinguished  for  his  prayerfulness  in  them  all. 
As  a  citizen,  his  country  has  the  advantage  of  his  inter- 
cession ;  as  a  neighbor  those  under  his  shadow  are  re- 
membered in  supplication.  He  prays  as  a  husband  and 
as  a  father  ;  he  strives  to  make  his  family  devotions  a 
model  for  his  flock  ;  and  if  the  fire  on  the  altar  of  God 
should  burn  low  anywhere  else,  it  is  well  tended  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord's  chosen  servant — for  he  takes  care 
that  the  morning  and  evening  sacrifice  shall  sanctify  his 
dwelling.  But  there  are  some  of  his  prayers  which  con- 
cern his  office,  and  of  those  our  plan  in  these  lectures 
leads  us  to  speak  most.  He  offers  peculiar  supplica- 
tions as  a  minister,  and  he  draws  near  to  God  in  this 
respect,  over  and  above  all  his  ajDproaches  in  his  other 
relationships. 

I  take  it  that  as  a  minister  lie  is  always  praying. 


PKIVATE    PRAYER.  67 

WhcncYcr  his  mind  turns  to  his  work,  whetlier  he  is  in 
it  or  out  of  it,  he  cjacukitcs  a  petition,  sending  up  his. 
lioly  desires  as  well-directed  arrows  to  the  slcies.  He  is 
not  always  in  the  act  of  prayer,  but  he  lives  in  the  spirit 
of  it.  If  his  heart  be  in  his  work,  he  cannot  eat  or  drink, 
or  take  recreation,  or  go  to  his  bed,  or  rise  in  the  morn- 
ing, without  evermore  feeling  a  fervency  of  desire,  a 
weight  of  anxiety,  and  a  simplicity  of  dependence  upon 
God  ;  thus,  in  one  form  or  other  he  continues  in  prayer. 
If  there  be  any  man  under  heaven,  who  is  compelled  to 
carry  out  the  precept — "  Pray  without  ceasing,"  surely 
it  is  the  Christian  minister.  He  has  peculiar  tempta- 
tions, special  trials,  singular  difficulties,  and  remarkable 
duties  ;  he  has  to  deal  with  God  in  awful  relationships, 
and  with  men  in  mysterious  interests  ;  he  therefore  needs 
much  more  grace  than  common  men,  and  as  he  knows 
this,  he  is  led  constantly  to  cry  to  the  strong  for  strength, 
and  say,  "  I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the  hills,  from 
whence  cometh  my  help."  Alleine  once  wrote  to  a  dear 
friend,  "  Though  I  am  apt  to  be  unsettled  and  quickly 
set  off  the  hinges,  yet,  methinks,  I  am  like  a  bird  out  of 
the  nest,  I  am  never  quiet  till  I  am  in  my  old  way  of 
communion  Avith  God  ;  like  the  needle  in  the  compass, 
that  is  restless  till  it  be  turned  toward  the  pole.  I  can 
say,  through  grace,  with  the  church,  '  With  my  soul  have 
I  desired  thee  in  the  night,  and  Avith  my  spirit  within 
me  have  I  sought  thee  early.'  My  heart  is  early  and  late 
Avith  God  ;  'tis  the  business  and  delight  of  my  life  to 
seek  him."  Such  must  be  the  even  tenor  of  your  Avay, 
0  men  of  God.  If  yon  as  ministers  are  not  very  prayer- 
ful, you  are  much  to  be  pitied.  If,  in  the  future,  yon 
shall  be  called  to  sustain  pastorates,  large  or  small,  if  you 
become  lax  in  secret  devotion,  not  only  will  you  need  to 
be  pitied,  but  your  people  also  ;  and,  in  addition  to  that. 


68  LECTURES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

you  shall  be  blamed,  and  the  day  cometh  in  which  you 
shall  be  ashamed  and  confounded. 

It  may  scarcely  be  needful  to  commend  to  you  the 
sweet  uses  of  private  devotion,  and  yet  I  cannot  forbear. 
To  you,  as  the  ambassadors  of  God,  the  mercy-seat  baa 
a  virtue  beyond  all  estimate  ;  the  more  familiar  you  are 
with  the  court  of  heaven  the  better  shall  you  discharge 
your  heavenly  trust.  Among  alL -the  formative  influ- 
ences which  go  to  make  up  a  man  honored  of  God  in  the 
ministry,  I  know  of  none  more  mighty  than  his  own 
familiarity  with  the  mercy-seat.  All  that  a  college  course 
can  do  for  a  student  is  coarse  and  external  compared 
with  the  spiritual  and  delicate  refinement  obtained  by 
communion  with  God.  While  the  unformed  minister  is 
revolving  upon  the  wheel  of  preparation,  prayer  is  the 
tool  of  the  great  potter  by  which  he  moulds  the  vessel. 
All  our  libraries  and  studies  are  mere  emptiness  com- 
pared with  our  closets.  We  grow,  we  wax  mighty,  we 
prevail  in  private  prayer. 

Your  prayers  will  be  your  ablest  assistants  ivMle  your 
discourses  are  yet  ujpon  tlie  anvil.  W^liile  other  men,  like 
Esau,  are  hunting  for  their  portion,  you,  by  the  aid  of 
prayer,  will  find  the  savory  meat  near  at  home,  and 
may  say  in  truth  what  Jacob  said  so  falsely,  "  The  Lord 
brought  it  to  me,"  If  you  can  dip  your  pens  into  your 
hearts,  appealing  in  earnestness  to  the  Lord,  you  will 
write  well  ;  and  if  you  can  gather  your  matter  on  your 
knees  at  the  gate  of  heaven,  you  will  not  fail  to  speak 
well.  Prayer,  as  a  mental  exercise,  will  bring  many 
subjects  before  the  mind,  and  so  help  in  the  selection  of 
a  topic,  while  as  a  high  spiritual  engagement  it  will 
cleanse  your  inner  eye  that  you  may  see  truth  in  the 
light  of  God.  Texts  will  often  refuse  to  reveal  their 
treasures  till  you  open  them  with  the  key  of  prayer. 


PRIVATE   PRAYER.  69 

How  wonderfully  were  tlie  books  opened  to  Daniel  when 
he  was  in  supplication  !  How  much  Peter  learned  upon 
the  housetop  I  The  closet  is  the  best  study.  The  com- 
mentators are  good  instructors,  but  the  Author  himself 
is  far  better,  and  prayer  makes  a  direct  appeal  to  him 
and  enlists  him  in  our  cause.  It  is  a  gi'eat  thing  to  pray 
one's  self  into  the  spirit  and  marrow  of  a  text ;  working 
into  it  by  sacred  feeding  thereon,  even  as  the  worm  bores 
its  way  into  the  kernel  of  the  nut.  Prayer  supplies  a 
leverage  for  the  uplifting  of  ponderous  truths.  One 
marvels  how  the  stones  of  Stonehenge  could  have  been 
set  in  their  places  ;  it  is  even  more  to  be  inquired  after 
whence  some  men  obtained  such  admirable  knowledge  of 
mysterious  doctrines :  was  not  prayer  the  potent  ma- 
chinery Avhich  wrought  the  wonder  ?  Waiting  upon 
God  often  turns  darkness  into  light.  Persevering  in- 
quiry at  the  sacred  oracle  uplifts  the  veil  and  gives  grace 
to  look  into  the  deep  things  of  God.  A  certain  Puritan 
divine,  at  a  debate,  was  observed  frequently  to  write 
upon  the  paper  before  him  ;  upon  others  curiously  seek- 
ing to  read  his  notes,  they  found  nothing  upon  the  page 
but  the  words,  "  More  light.  Lord,"  "  More  light.  Lord," 
repeated  scores  of  times  :  a  most  suitable  prayer  for  the 
student  of  the  "Word  when  preparing  his  discourse. 

You  will  frequently  find  fresh  streams  of  thought 
leaping  up  from  the  passage  before  you,  as  if  the  rock 
had  been  struck  by  Moses'  rod ;  new  veins  of  precious 
ore  will  be  revealed  to  your  astonished  gaze  as  you  quarry 
God's  Word  and  use  diligently  the  hammer  of  prayer. 
You  will  sometimes  feel  as  if  you  Avere  entirely  shut  up, 
and  then  suddenly  a  new  road  will  open  before  you.  He 
who  hath  the  key  of  David  openeth,  and  no  man  shut- 
teth.  If  you  have  ever  sailed  down  the  Ehine,  the  water 
scenery  of  that  majestic  river  will  have  struck  you  as  be- 


70  LECTUEES  TO  MY  STUDEKTS. 

ing  very  like  in  effect  to  a  series  of  lakes.  Before  and 
behind  the  vessel  appears  to  be  enclosed  in  massive  walls 
of  rock,  or  circles  of  vine-clad  terraces,  till  on  a  sudden 
you  turn  a  corner,  and  before  you  the  rejoicing  and 
abounding  river  flows  onward  in  its  strength.  So  the 
laborious  student  often  finds  it  with  a  text ;  it  appears 
to  be  fast  closed  against  you,  but  prayer  propels  your 
vessel,  and  turns  its  prow  into  fresh  waters,  and  you  be- 
hold the  broad  and  deep  stream  of  sacred  truth  flowing 
in  its  fulness,  and  bearing  you  with  it.  Is  not  this  a 
convincing  reason  for  abiding  in  supplication  ?  Use 
prayer  as  a  boring  rod,  and  wells  of  living  "Avater  will 
leap  up  from  the  boAvels  of  the  Word.  Who  will  be  con- 
tent to  thirst  when  living  waters  are  so  readily  to  be 
obtained  ! 

The  best  and  holiest  men  have  ever  made  made 
prayer  the  most  important  part  of  jiulpit  preparation. 
It  is  said  of  M'Cheyne,*  '^'Anxious  to  give  his  people  on 
the  Sabbath  Avhat  had  cost  him  somewhat,  he  never, 
without  an  urgent  reason,  went  before  them  without 
much  previous  meditation  and  prayer.  His  principle  on 
this  subject  was  embodied  in  a  remark  he  made  to  some 
of  us  who  were  conversing  on  the  matter.  Being  asked 
his  view  of  diligent  preparation  for  tlie  pulpit,  he 
reminded  us  of  Exodus  xxvii.  20.  *  Beaten  oil — beaten 
oil  for  the  lamps  of  the  sanctuary.''  And  yet  his  prayer- 
fulness  was  greater  still.  Indeed,  he  could  not  neglect 
fellowship  with  God  before  entering  the  congregation. 
He  needed  to  be  bathed  in  the  love  of  God.  His  minis- 
try was  so  much  a  bringing  out  of  views  that  had  first 
sanctified  his  own  soul,  that  the  healthiness  of  his  soul 

*  Memoir  and  Remains  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Murray  M'Cliej'ne, 
page  61.  This  iw  one  of  the  best  and  most  profitable  volumes 
ever  published.     Every  minister  should  read  it  often. 


PRIVATE   PRATER.  71 

was  absolutely  needful  to  the  vigor  and  power  of  liis 
ministrations."  'MYitli  him  the  commencement  of  all 
labor  invariably  consisted  in  the  preparation  of  his  own 
soul.  The  Avails  of  his  chamber  were  witnesses  of  his 
praycrfulncss  and  of  his  tears,  as  well  as  of  his  cries." 

Prayer  will  singularly  assist  you  in  the  delivery  of 
your  sermon;  in  fact,  nothing  can  so  gloriously  fit  you 
to  preach  as  descending  fresh  from  the  mount  of  com- 
munion with  God  to  speak  with  men.  None  are  so  able 
to  plead  with  men  as  those  who  have  been  wrestling  with 
God  on  their  behalf.  It  is  said  of  Alleine,  ''  He  poured 
out  his  very  heart  in  prayer  and  preaching.  His  suppli- 
cations and  his  exhortations  were  so  affectionate,  so  full 
of  holy  zeal,  life,  and  vigor,  that  they  quite  overcame  his 
hearers ;  he  melted  over  them,  so  that  he  thawed  and 
mollified,  and  sometimes  dissolved  the  hardest  hearts." 
There  could  have  been  none  of  this  sacred  dissolving  of 
heart  if  his  mind  had  not  been  previously  exposed  to  the 
tropical  rays  of  the  Sun  of  Eighteousness  by  private  fel- 
lowship with  the  risen  Lord.  A  truly  pathetic  delivery, 
in  which  there  is  no  affectation,  but  much  affection, 
can  only  be  the  offspring  of  prayer.  There  is  no  rheto- 
ric like  that  of  the  heart,  and  no  school  for  learning  it 
but  the  foot  of  the  cross.  It  were  better  that  yoiT  never 
learned  a  rule  of  human  oratory,  but  were  full  of  the 
power  of  heaven-born  love,  than  that  you  should  master 
Quintilian,  Cicero,  and  Aristotle,  and  remain  witliout 
the  apostolic  anointing. 

Prayer  may  not  make  you  eloquent  after  the  human 
mode,  but  it  will  make  you  truly  so,  for  you  will  speak 
out  of  the  heart ;  and  is  not  that  the  meaning  of  the 
word  eloquence  ?  It  will  bring  fire  from  heaven 
upon  your  sacrifice,  and  tlius  prove  it  to  be  accepted  of 
the  Lord. 


72  LECTUEES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

As  fresli  springs  of  thought  will  frequently  break  up 
during  preparation  in  answer  to  prayer,  so  will  it  be  in 
the  delivery  of  the  sermon.  Most  preacliers  who  depend 
upon  God's  Spirit  will  tell  you  that  their  freshest  and 
best  thoughts  are  not  those  which  were  premeditated, 
but  ideas  wliich  come  to  them,  flying  as  on  the  wings  of 
angels ;  unexpected  treasures  brouglit  on  a  sudden  by 
celestial  hands,  seeds  of  the  flowers  of  paradise,  wafted 
from  the  mountains  of  myrrh.  Often  and  often  when  I 
have  felt  hampered,  both  in  thought  and  expression,  my 
secret  groaning  of  heart  has  brought  me  relief,  and  I 
have  enjoyed  more  than  usual  liberty.  But  how  dare  we 
pray  in  the  battle  if  we  have  never  cried  to  the  Lord 
while  buckling  on  the  harness  \  The  remembrance  of 
his  wrestlings  at  home  comforts  the  fettered  j)reacher 
when  in  the  pulpit :  God  will  not  desert  us  unless  we 
have  deserted  him.  You,  brethren,  will  find  that  prayer 
will  insure  you  strength  equal  to  your  day. 

As  the  tongues  of  fire  came  upon  the  apostles,  when 
they  sat  watching  and  praying,  even  so  will  tliey  come 
upon  you.  You  will  find  yourselves,  when  you  might 
perhaps  have  flagged,  suddenly  upborne,  as  by  a  seraph's 
power.  Wheels  of  fire  will  be  fastened  to  your  chariot, 
which  had  begun  to  drag  right  heavily,  and  steeds 
angelic  will  be  in  a  moment  harnessed  to  your  fiery  car, 
till  you  climb  the  heavens  like  Elijah,  in  a  rapture  of 
flaming  inspiration. 

After  the  sermon,  how  would  a  conscientious  pi'eachc] 
give  vent  to  his  feelings  and  find  solace  for  his  soul  if 
access  to  the  mercy-seat  were  denied  him  ?  Elevated  to 
tlie  highest  pitch  of  excitement,  hoAv  can  we  relieve  our 
souls  but  in  importunate  pleadings.  Or  depressed  by  a 
fear  of  failure,  how  shall  we  be  comforted  but  in  moan- 
ing out  our  complaint  before  our  God.     How  often  have 


PRIVATE   rRATER.  73 

some  of  us  tossed  to  and  fro  upon  our  couch  luilf  the 
night  because  of  conscious  shortcomings  in  our  testi- 
mony !  IIow  frequently  have  we  longed  to  rush  back 
to  the  pulpit  again  to  say  over  again  more  vehemently, 
•what  we  have  uttered  in  so  cold  a  manner  !  Where 
could  we  find  rest  for  our  spirits  but  in  confession  of  sin 
and  passionate  entreaty  that  our  infirmity  or  folly  might 
in  no  way  hinder  the  Spirit  of  God  !  It  is  not  possible 
in  a  public  assembly  to  pour  out  all  our  heart's  love  to 
our  flock.  Like  Joseph,  the  affectionate  minister  will 
seek  where  to  weep ;  his  emotions,  however  freely  ho 
may  express  himself,  will  be  pent  up  in  the  pulpit,  and 
only  in  private  prayer  can  he  draw  up  the  sluices  and 
bid  them  flow  forth.  If  we  cannot  prevail  with  men  for 
God,  we  will,  at  least,  endtnifor  to  prevail  with  God  for 
men.  "\Ye  cannot  save  them,  or  even  persuade  them  to 
be  saved,  but  we  can  at  least  bewail  their  madness  and 
entreat  the  interference  of  the  Lord.  Like  Jeremiah, 
we  can  make  it  our  resolve,  "  If  ye  will  not  hear  it,  my 
soul  shall  weep  in  secret  places  for  your  pride,  and  mine 
eye  shall  weep  sore  aiid  run  down  with  tears."  To  such 
pathetic  appeals  the  Lord's  heart  can  never  be  indiffer- 
ent ;  in  due  time  the  weeping  intercessor  will  become 
the  rejoicing  winner  of  souls.  There  is  a  distinct  con- 
nection between  importunate  agonizing  and  true  success, 
even  as  between  the  travail  and  the  birth,  the  sowing  in 
tears  and  the  reaping  in  joy.  *'  How  is  it  that  your 
seed  comes  up  so  soon  ?  "  said  one  gardener  to  another. 
"  Because  I  steep  it,"  was  the  reply.  We  must  steep  all 
our  teachings  in  tears,  "  when  none  but  God  is  nigh," 
and  their  growth  will  surprise  and  delight  us.  Could 
any  one  wonder  at  Brainerd's  success,  when  his  diary 
contains  such  notes  as  this  :  ''  Lord's  Day,  April  2oth — 
This  morning  spent  about  two  hours  in  sacred  duties, 
4 


74  LECTUEES   TO   MY   STUDEXTS, 

and  was  enabled,  more  than  ordinarily,  to  agonize  for 
immortal  souls  ;  thougli  it  was  early  in  the  morning,  and 
the  sun  scarcely  shone  at  all,  yet  my  body  was  quite  wet 
with  sweat,"  The  secret  of  Luther's  power  lay  in  the 
same  direction.  Theodorus  said  of  him:  ''I  overheard 
him  in  prayer,  but,  good  God,  with  what  life  and  spirit 
did  he  j^ray  !  It  was  with  so  much  reverence,  as  if  he 
were  speaking  to  God,  yet  with  so  much  confidence  as  if 
he  were  speaking  to  his  friend."  My  brethren,  let  me 
beseech  you  to  be  men  of  prayer.  Great  talents  you 
may  never  have,  but  you  will  do  well  enough  without 
them  if  you  abound  in  intercession.  If  you  do  not  pray 
over  what  you  have  sown,  God's  sovereignty  may  possibly 
determine  to  give  a  blessing,  but  you  have  no  right  to 
expect  it,  and  if  it  comes  it  will  bring  no  comfort  to  your 
own  heart.  I  was  reading  yesterday  a  book  by  Father 
Faber,  late  of  the  Oratory,  at  Brompton,  a  marvellous 
compound  of  truth  and  error.  In  it  he  relates  a  legend 
to  this  effect.  A  certain  preacher,  whose  sermons  con- 
verted men  by  scores,  received  a  revelation  from  heaven 
that  not  one  of  the  conversions  was  owing  to  his  talents 
or  eloquence,  but  all  to  the  prayers  of  an  illiterate  lay- 
brother,  who  sat  on  the  pulpit  steps,  pleading  all  the 
time  for  the  success  of  the  sermon.  It  may  in  the  all- 
revealing  day  bo  so  with  us.  We  may  discover,  after 
having  labored  long  and  wearily  in  iireaching,  that  all 
the  honor  belongs  to  another  builder,  Avhose  prayers  were 
gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones,  while  our  .sermonizings 
being  apart  from  prayer,  were  but  hay  and  stubble. 

When  we  liave  done  with  preaching,  we  shall  not,  if 
we  are  true  ministers  of  God,  have  done  with  praying, 
because  the  Avhole  church,  with  many  tongues,  Avill  be 
crying,  in  tlie  language  of  the  Macedojiian,  "  Come  over 
and  help  us  "  in  prayer.     If  you  are  enabled  to  prevail 


PRIVATE   PKATER.  75 

in  prayer  yoii  "will  have  many  requests  to  offer  for  otliera 
who  will  flock  to  you,  and  heg  a  share  in  your  intcrcca- 
sions,  and  so  you  will  find  yourself  commissioned  with 
errands  to  the  mercy-seat  for  friends  and  hearers.  Such 
is  always  my  lot,  and  I  feel  it  a  pleasure  to  have  such 
requests  to  present  before  my  Lord.  Never  can  you  be 
short  of  themes  for  prayer,  even  if  no  one  should  suggest 
them  to  you.  Look  at  your  congi-egation.  There  are 
always  sick  folk  among  them,  and  many  more  who  arc 
soul-sick.  Some  are  unsaved,  others  are  seeking  and 
cannot  find.  Many  are  desponding,  and  not  a  few  be- 
lievers are  backsliding  or  mourning.  There  are  widows' 
tears  and  orphans'  sighs  to  be  put  into  our  bottle,  and 
poured  out  before  the  Lord.  If  you  are  a  genuine  min- 
ister of  God  you  will  stand  as  a  priest  before  the  Lord, 
spiritually  wearing  the  ephod  and  the  breast-plate  "where- 
on you  bear  the  names  of  the  children  of  Israel,  pleading 
for  them  within  the  veil.  I  have  known  brethren  who 
have  kept  a  list  of  persons  for  whom  they  felt  bound 
especially  to  pray,  and  I  doubt  not  such  a  record  often 
reminded  them  of  what  might  otherwise  have  slipped 
their  memory.  Nor  will  your  people  wholly  engross 
you  ;  the  nation  and  the  world  will  claim  their  share. 
The  man  who  is  mighty  in  prayer  may  be  a  wall  of  fire 
around  his  country,  her  guardian  angel  and  her  shield. 
AVe  have  all  heard  how  the  enemies  of  the  Protestant 
cause  dreadedthe  prayers  of  Knox  more  than  they  feared 
armies  of  ten  thousand  men.  Tlie  famous  Welch  was 
also  a  great  intercessor  for  his  country  ;  he  used  to  say, 
*'  he  wondered  how  a  Christian  could  lie  in  his  bed  all 
night  and  not  rise  to  pray."  When  his  wife,  fearing  that 
lie  would  take  cold,  followed  him  into  the  room  to  w^hich 
he  had  withdrawn,  she  heard  him  pleading  in  broken 
Bentenccs.  "  Lord,  "wilt  thou  not  grant  me  Scotland  ?"     0 


76  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

that  we  were  thus  wrestling  at  midnight,  crying,  "  Lord, 
wilt  thou  not  grant  us  our  hearers'  souls  ?  " 

The  minister  who  does  not  earnestly  pray  over  his 
work  must  surely  be  a  vain  and  conceited  man.  He  acts 
as  if  he  thought  himself  sufficient  of  himself,  and  there- 
fore needed  not  to  appeal  to  God.  Yet  what  a  baseless 
pride  to  conceive  that  our  preaching  can  ever  be  in  itself 
so  powerful  that  it  can  turn  men  from  their  sins,  and 
bring  them  to  God  without  the  working  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
If  we  are  truly  humble-minded  we  shall  not  venture  down 
to  the  fight  until  the  Lord  of  Hosts  has  clothed  us  with 
all  power,  and  said  to  us,  '*  Go  in  this  thy  might."  The 
preacher  who  neglects  to  pray  much  must  be  very  care- 
less about  his  ministry.  He  cannot  have  comprehended 
his  calling.  He  cannot  have  computed  the  value  of  a 
soul,  or  estimated  the  meaning  of  eternity.  Hejnust  be 
a  mere  official,  tempted  into  a  pulpit  because  the  piece 
of  bread  which  belongs  to  the  priest's  office  is  very  neces- 
sary to  him,  or  a  detestable  hypocrite  who  loves  the' 
praise  of  men,  and  cares  not  for  the  praise  of  God.  He 
will  surely  become  a  mere  superficial  talker,  best  approved 
where  grace  is  leas^  valued  and  a  vain  show  most  admired. 
He  cannot  be  one  of  those  who  plough  deep  and  reap 
abundant  harvests.  He  is  a  mere  loiterer,  not  a  laborer. 
As  a  preacher  he  has  a  name  to  live  and  is  dead.  He 
limps  in  his  life  like  the  lame  man  in  the  Proverbs,  whose 
legs  were  not  equal,  for  his  praying  is  shorter  than  his 
preaching. 

I  am  afraid  that,  more  or  less,  most  of  us  need  self- 
examination  as  to  this  matter.  If  any  man  here  should 
venture  to  say  that  he  prays  as  much  as  he  ought,  as  a 
student,  I  should  gravely  question  his  statement ;  and  if 
there  be  a  minister,  deacon,  or  elder  present  who  can  say 
that  he  believes  he  is  occupied  with  God  in  prayer  to  the 


PRIVATE   PRATER.  77 

full  extent  to  wliicli  he  might  be,  I  should  be  pleased  to 
know  him.  I  can  only  say,  that  if  he  can  claim  this  ex- 
cellence, he  leaves  me  far  behind,  for  I  can  make  no  such 
claim  :  I  wish  I  could  ;  and  I  make  the  confession  with 
no  small  degree  of  shame-facedness  and  confusion,  but  I 
am  obliged  to  make  it.  If  we  are  not  more  negligent 
than  others,  this  is  no  consolation  to  us  ;  the  short- 
comings of  others  are  no  excuses  for  us.  How  few  of  us 
could  compare  ourselves  with  Mr.  Joseph  Alleine,  whose 
character  I  have  mentioned  before  ?  "At  the  time  of 
his  health,"  writes  his  wife,  ''  he  did  rise  constantly  at  or 
before  four  of  the  clock,  and  would  be  much  troubled  if 
he  heard  smiths  or  other  craftsmen  at  their  trades  before 
he  was  at  communion  with  God  ;  saying  to  me  often, 
*  How  this  noise  shames  me.  Does  not  my  Master  deserve 
more  than  theirs  ? '  From  four  till  eight  he  spent  in 
prayer,  holy  contemplation,  and  singing  of  psalms,  in 
which  he  much  delighted  and  did  daily  practise  alone,  as 
well  as  in  the  family.  Sometimes  he  would  suspend  the 
routine  of  parochial  engagements,  and  devote  whole  days 
to  these  secret  exercises,  in  order  to  which,  he  would 
contrive  to  be  alone  in  some  void  house,  or  else  in  some 
sequestered  spot  in  the  open  valley.  Here  there  would 
be  much  prayer  and  meditation  on  God  and  heaven."  * 
Could  we  read  Jonatlian  Edwards'  description  of  David 
Brainerd  and  not  blush?  "His  life,"  says  Edwards, 
"  shows  the  right  way  to  success  in  the  works  of  the  min- 
istry. He  sought  it  as  the  resolute  soldier  seeks  victory 
in  a  siege  or  battle  ;  or  as  a  man  that  runs  a  race  for  a 
groat  prize.  Animated  with  love  to  Christ  and  souls,  how 
did  he  labor  always  fervently,  not  only  in  word  and  doc- 
trine, in  public  and  private,  but  in  prayers  day  and  night 

*  Joseph   Alleine:    His   Companions  and   Times.     By  Chas 
Stanford.     An  admirable  biography 


78  LECTURES  TO   MY  STUDE^S'TS. 

*  wrestling  with  God '  in  secrete,  and  '  travailing  in  birth/ 
with  nnntterablc  groans  and  agonies  !  '  until  Christ  were 
formed '  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  to  whom  he  was  sent ! 
Iloyr  did  he  thirst  for  a  blessing  upon  his  ministry,  '  and 
watch  for  souls  as  one  that  must  give  account  ! '  IIow 
did  he  '  go  forth  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord  God,  seeking 
and  depending  on  the  special  influence  of  the  Spirit  :o 
assist  and  succeed  him  !  And  what  was  the  happy  fruit  at 
last,  after  long  waiting  and  many  dark  and  discourag- 
ing appearances  :  Like  a  true  son  of  Jacob,  he  persevered 
in  wrestling  through  all  the  darkness  of  the  night,  until 
the  breaking  of  the  day."  * 

Might  not  Henry  Martpi's  journal  shame  us,  whero 
we  find  such  entries  as  these  :  "Sept.  2'ith — The  deter- 
mination with  which  I  went  to  bed  last  night,  of  devot- 
ing this  day  to  prayer  and  fasting,  I  was  enabled  to  put 
into  execution.  In  my  first  prayer  for  deliverance  from 
worldly  thoughts,  depending  on  the  power  and  promises 
of  God,  for  fixing  my  soul  while  I  prayed,  I  was  helped 
to  enjoy  much  abstinence  from  the  world  for  nearly  an 
hour.  Then  read  the  histoiy  of  Abraham,  to  see  how 
familiarly  God  had  revealed  himself  to  mortal  men  of 
old.  Afterwards,  in  prayer  for  my  own  sanctification, 
my  soul  breathed  freely  and  ardently  after  the  holiness  of 
God,  and  this  was  the  best  season  of  the  day."f  AVe 
might  perhaps  more  truly  join  Avith  him  in  his  lament 
after  the  first  year  of  his  ministry  that  "  he  judged  he 
had  dedicated  too  much  time  to  public  ministrations,  and 
too  little  to  private  communion  with  God." 

*  The  Life  of  the  Rev.  David  Brainerd,  Missionary  to  the  Indiana. 
By  Jonathan  Edwards,  A.  M.,  President  of  the  College  of  New 
Jersey.     London.     1818. 

f  A  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Martyn*  B.  D.,  Chaplain  to  the 
Hon.  East  India  Company.  By  Rev.  John  Sargent,  M.  A.,  Rector 
of  Lavington.     185o. 


rUlVATE   rRAYER.  79 

How  much  of  blessing  we  may  have  missed  through 
remissness  in  supplication  we  can  scarcely  guess,  and 
none  of  us  can  know  how  poor  we  are  in  comparison  with 
Avliat  we  might  have  been  if  we  had  lived  habitually 
nearer  to  God  in  prayer.  Vain  regrets  and  surmises 
are  useless,  but  an  earnest  determination  to  amend  will 
1)0  far  more  useful.  We  not  only  ought  to  pray  more, 
but  we  must.  The  fact  is,  the  secret  of  all  ministerial 
success  lies  in  prevalence  at  the  mercy-seat. 

One  bright  benison  which  private  prayer  brings  dowu 
upon  the  ministry  is  an  indescribable  and  inimitable 
something,  better  understood  than  named ;  it  is  a  dew 
from  the  Lord,  a  divine  presence  which  you  will  recog- 
nize at  once  when  I  say  it  is  ''an.  unction  from  the  holy 
One."  What  is  it  ?  I  wonder  how  long  Ave  might  beat 
our  brains  before  we  could  plainly  put  into  words  what 
is  meant  by  ^jrcflfcA/M^  with  unction ;  yet  he  who 
preaches  knows  its  presence,  and  he  who  hears  soon 
detects  its  absence  ;  Samaria,  in  famine,  typifies  a  dis- 
course without  it ;  Jerusalem,  with  her  feasts  of  fat 
things  full  of  marrow,  may  represent  a  sermon  enriched 
with  it.  Every  one  knows  what  the  freshness  of  the 
morning  is  when  orient  pearls  abound  on  every  blade  of 
grass,  but  who  can  describe  it,  much  less  produce  it  of 
itself  ?  Such  is  the  mystery  of  spiritual  anointing  ;  we 
know,  but  we  cannot  tell  to  others  what  it  is.  It  is  as 
easy  as  it  is  foolish  to  counterfeit  it,  as  some  do  who  use 
expressions  Avhich  are  meant  to  betoken  fervent  love, 
but  oftener  indicate  sickly  sentimentalism  or  mere  cant. 
*'  Dear  Lord  ! "  "  Sweet  Jesus  !  "  "  Precious  Christ  !" 
are  by  them  poured  out  wholesale,  till  one  is  nauseated. 
These  familiarities  may  have  been  not  only  tolerable, 
but  even  beautiful  when  they  first  fell  from  a  saint  of 
God,  speaking,  as  it  were,  out  of  the  excellent  glory, 


80  LECTURES   TO   MY    STUDENTS. 

but  when  repeated  flippantly  they  are  not  only  intoler- 
able, but  indecent,  if  not  profane.  Some  have  tried  to 
imitate  unction  by  unnatural  tones  and  whines  ;  by 
turning  up  the  whites  of  their  eyes,  and  lifting  their 
hands  in  a  most  ridiculous  manner.  M'Che^Tie's  tone 
and  rhythm  one  hears  from  Scotchmen  continually  :  we 
much  prefer  his  spirit  to  his  mannerism  ;  and  all  mere 
mannerism  Avithout  power  is  as  foul  carrion  of  all  life 
bereft,  obnoxious,  mischievous.  Certain  brethren  aim 
at  inspiration  through  exertion  and  loud  shouting  ;  but 
it  does  not  come  :  some  we  have  known  to  stop  the  dis- 
course, and  exclaim,  "God  bless  you,"  and  others  gestic- 
ulate wildly,  and  drive  their  finger  nails  into  the  palms 
of  their  hands  as  if  they  Avere  in  convulsions  of  celestial 
ardor.  Bali  !  The  whole  thing  smells  of  the  green- 
room and  the  stage.  The  getting  up  of  fervor  in  hear- 
ers by  the  simulation  of  it  in  the  preacher  is  a  loath- 
some deceit  to  be  scorned  by  lionest  men.  "To  affect 
feeling,"  says  Richard  Cecil,  "is  nauseous  and  soon  de- 
tected, but  to  feel  is  the  readiest  way  to  the  hearts  of 
others."  Unction  is  a  thing  which  you  cannot  manu- 
facture, and  its  counterfeits  are  Averse  than  worthless  ; 
yet  it  is  in  itself  priceless,  and  beyond  measure  needful 
if  you  Avould  edify  believers  and  bring  sinners  to  Jesus. 
To  the  secret  pleader  Avith  God  this  secret  is  committed  : 
upon  him  rests  the  dew  of  the  Lord,  about  him  is  the 
perfume  Avhicli  makes  glad  the  heart.  If  the  anointing 
which  Ave  bear  come  not  from  the  Lord  of  hosts  Ave  are 
deceivers,  and  since  only  in  prayer  can  Ave  obtain  it,  let 
US  continue  instant,  constant,  fervent  in  supplication. 
Let  your  fleece  lie  on  the  threshing-floor  of  supplication 
till  it  is  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven.  Go  not  to  min- 
ister in  the  temple  till  you  have  Avashed  in  the  laver. 
Thirk  not  to  be  a  messenger  of  grace  to  others  till  you 


PRIVATE   PEATER.  81 

have  seen  the  God  of  grace  for  yourselves,  and  had  tlio 
word  from  liis  mouth. 

Time  si:)ent  in  quiet  prostration  of  soul  before  the 
Lord  is  most  invigorating.  David  "  sat  before  the 
liortl ; "  it  is  a  great  thing  to  hold  these  sacred  sittings ; 
the  mind  being  receptive,  like  an  open  flower  drinking 
in  the  sunbeams,  or  the  sensitive  photographic  plate 
accepting  the  image  before  it.  Quietude,  which  some 
men  cannot  abide,  because  it  reveals  their  inward  pov- 
erty, is  as  a  palace  of  cedar  to  the  wise,  for  along  its 
hallowed  courts  the  king  in  his  beauty  deigns  to  walk. 

"  Sacred  sileuce  !  thou  that  art 
Floodgate  of  the  deeper  heart, 
Offspring  of  a  heavenly  kind  ; 
Frost  o'  the  mouth,  and  thaw  o'  the  mind."  ♦ 

Priceless  as  the  gift  of  utterance  may  be,  the  practice 
of  silence  in  some  aspects  far  excels  it.  Do  you  think 
me  a  Quaker  ?  Well,  be  it  so.  Herein  I  follow  George 
Fox  most  lovingly  ;  for  I  am  persuaded  that  Ave  most  of 
us  think  too  much  of  speech,  which  after  all  is  but  the 
shell  of  thought.  Quiet  contemplation,  still  worship, 
unuttered  rapture,  these  are  mine  when  my  best  jewels 
are  before  me.  Brethren,  rob  not  your  heart  of  the 
deep-sea  joys  ;  miss  not  the  far-down  life,  by  for  ever 
babbling  among  the  broken  shells  and  foaming  surges  Df 
the  shore. 

I  would  seriously  recommend  to  you,  when  settled  in 
the  ministry,  the  celebration  of  extraordinary  seasons  of 
devotion.  If  your  ordinary  prayers  do  not  keep  up  the 
freshness  and  vigor  of  your  souls,  and  you  feel  that  you 
are  flagging,  get  alone  for  a  Aveek,  or  even  a  month  if 
possible.     We  have  occasional  holidays,  why  not  frequcLt 

*  Flecknott. 
4* 


82  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

holy  days  ?  "We  Lear  of  our  richer  brethren  finding  time 
for  a  journey  to  Jerusalem  ;  could  Ave  not  spare  time  :or 
the  less  dilhcult  and  far  more  profitable  journey  to  the 
heavenly  city  ?  Isaac  Ambrose,  once  pastor  at  Preston, 
who  wrote  tliat  famous  book,  "  Looking  unto  Jesus,'' 
always  set  apart  one  month  in  the  year  for  seclusion  in  i\ 
hut  in  a  wood  at  Garstang.  No  wonder  that  he  was  so 
mighty  a  divine,  when  he  could  regularly  spend  so  long 
a  time  in  the  mount  with  God.  I  notice  that  the  Roman- 
ists are  accustomed  to  secure  what  they  call  "  Retreats," 
where  a  number  of  priests  Avill  retire  for  a  time  into  per- 
fect quietude,  to  spend  the  whole  of  the  time  in  fasting 
and  jirayer,  so  as  to  inflame  their  souls  with  ardor.  AVe 
may  learn  from  our  adversaries.  It  would  be  a  great 
thing  every  now  and  then  for  a  band  of  truly  spiritual 
brethren  to  spend  a  day  or  two  with  each  other  in  real 
burning  agony  of  prayer.  Pastors  alone  could  use  much 
more  freedom  than  in  a  mixed  company.  Times  of 
humiliation  and  supplication  for  the  whole  church  will 
also  benefit  us  if  we  enter  into  them  heartily.  Our  sea- 
sons of  fasting  and  ])rayer  at  the  Tabernacle  have  been 
high  days  indeed  ;  never  has  heaven-gate  stood  wider  ; 
never  have  our  hearts  been  nearer  the  central  glory.  I 
look  forward  to  our  month  of  special  devotion,  as  mari- 
ners reckon  upon  reaching  land.  Even  if  our  public  work 
were  laid  aside  to  give  us  space  for  special  prayer,  it  might 
be  a  great  gain  to  our  churches.  A  voyage  to  the  golden 
rivers  of  fellowship  and  meditation  Avould  be  well  repaid 
by  a  fi'cight  of  sanctified  feeling  and  elevated  thought. 
Our  silence  migiit  be  better  than  our  voices  if  our  soli- 
tnde  were  spent  with  God.  That  was  a  grand  action  of 
old  Jerome,  when  he  laid  all  his  pressing  engagements 
aside  to  acliieve  a  purpose  to  which  he  felt  a  call  from 
heaven,     lie  had  a  large  congregation,  as  large  a  one  as 


PRIVATE    PRaYEE.  83 

any  of  us  need  want :  but  lie  said  to  liis  people,  "  Now  it 
is  of  necessity  that  the  New  Testament  should  he  trans- 
lated, you  must  find  another  loreachcr :  the  translation 
must  be  made  ;  I  am  bound  for  the  wilderness,  and  shall 
not  return  till  my  task  is  finished."  Away  he  went  with 
his  manuscripts,  and  prayed  and  labored,  and  produced 
a  work — the  Latin  Vulgate — which  will  last  as  long  as 
the  world  stands  ;  on  the  whole  a  most  wonderful  trans- 
lation of  Holy  Scrijiture.  As  learning  and  prayerful  re- 
tirement together  could  thus  produce  an  immortal  work, 
if  we  were  sometimes  to  say  to  our  people  when  Ave  felt 
moved  to  do  so,  "  Dear  friends,  we  really  must  be  gone 
for  a  little  while  to  refresh  our  souls  in  solitude,"'  our 
profiting  would  soon  be  apparent,  and  if  we  did  not  write 
Latin  Vulgates,  yet  we  should  do  immortal  work,  such  aa 
would  abide  the  fire. 


LECTURE  rV. 

OUR  PUBLIC  PRAYER. 

Ii  lias  sometimes  been  the  boast  of  Episcopalians  tlial 
Churchmen  go  to  their  churches  to  pray  and  worship 
God,  but  that  Dissenters  merely  assemble  to  hear  sermons. 
Our  reply  to  this  is,  that  albeit  there  may  be  some  pro- 
fessors who  are  guilty  of  this  evil,  it  is  not  true  of  the 
people  of  God  among  us,  and  these  are  the  only  persons 
Avho  ever  will  in  any  church  really  enjoy  devotion.  Our 
congregations  gather  together  to  worship  God,  and  we 
assert,  and  feel  no  hesitation  in  so  asserting,  that  there  is 
as  much  true  and  acceptable  prayer  offered  in  our  ordi- 
nary Nonconformist  services  as  in  the  best  and  most 
jiompous  performances  of  the  Church  of  England. 

Moreover,  if  the  observation  be  meant  to  imply  that 
the  hearing  of  sermons  is  not  worshipping  God,  it  is 
founded  on  a  gross  mistake,  for  rightly  to  listen  to  the 
gospel  is  one  of  the  noblest  parts  of  the  adoration  of  the 
Most  nigh.  It  is  a  mental  exercise,  when  rightly  per- 
formed, in  which  all  tlie  faculties  of  the  spiritual  man  are 
called  into  devotional  action.  Reverently  hearing  the 
word  exercises  our  humility,  instructs  our  faith,  irradi- 
ates us  with  joy,  inflames  us  with  love,  inspires  us  with 
zeal,  and  lifts  us  up  towards  heaven.  Many  a  time  a 
sermon  has  been  a  kind  of  Jacob's  ladder  upon  which  we 
liave  seen  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descending, 
and  the  covenant  God  himself  at  the  top  thereof.  We 
have  often  felt  when  God  has  spoken  through  his  servants 


PUBLIC   PRAYER.  85 

into  our  souls,  ''This  is  none  other  tlum  the  house  of 
God,  and  the  very  gate  of  licaven."  AVe  have  magnilied 
the  name  of  tlie  Lord  and  praised  him  Avith  all  our  heart 
Avhile  he  has  s2)oken  to  ns  by  his  Spirit  which  he  has 
given  nnto  men.  Hence  there  is  not  the  wide  distinction 
to  be  drawn  between  preaching  and  prayer  that  some 
would  have  us  admit  ;  for  the  one  part  of  the  service 
softly  blends  into  the  other,  and  the  sermon  frequently 
inspires  the  prayer  and  the  hymn.  True  preaching  is  an 
acceptable  adoration  of  God  by  the  manifestation  of  his 
gracious  attributes  :  the  testimony  of  his  gospel,  which 
preeminently  glorifies  him,  and  the  obedient  hearing  of 
revealed  truth,  are  an  acceptable  form  of  worship  to  the 
Most  High,  and  perhaps  one  of  the  most  spiritual  in 
which  the  human  mind  can  be  engaged.  Nevertheless, 
as  the  old  Eoman  poet  tells  us,  it  is  right  to  learn  from 
our  enemies,  and  therefore  it  may  be  possible  that  our 
liturgical  opponents  have  pointed  out  to  us  what  is  in 
some  instances  a  weak  place  in  our  public  services.  It  is 
to  be  feared  that  our  exercises  are  not  in  every  case 
moulded  into  the  best  form,  or  presented  in  the  most 
commendable  fashion.  There  are  meeting-houses  in 
which  the  supplications  are  neither  so  devout  nor  so  ear- 
nest as  we  desire  ;  in  other  places  the  earnestness  is  so 
allied  with  ignorance,  and  the  devotion  so  marred  with 
rant,  that  no  intelligent  believer  can  enter  into  the  ser- 
vice Avith  pleasure.  Praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost  is  not 
universal  among  us,  neither  do  all  pray  with  the  under- 
standing as  well  as  with  the  heart.  There  is  room  for 
improvement,  and  in  some  quarters  there  is  an  imperative 
demand  for  it.  Let  me,  therefore,  very  earnestly  caution 
you,  beloved  brethren,  against  spoiling  your  services  hy 
your  prayers  ;  make  it  your  solemn  resolve  that  all  the 
engagements  of  the  sanctuary  shall  be  of  the  best  kind. 


86  LECTUllES  TO   MY    STUDENTS. 

Be  assured  tliat  free  prayer  is  the  most  scriptural,  and 
sJiould  be  the  most  excellent  form  of  iniblic  supplication. 
If  yoii  lose  faith  in  what  you  are  doing  you  will  never  do 
it  well ;  settle  it  in  your  minds  therefore,  that  before  the 
Lord  you  are  worshipping  in  a  manner  which  is  war- 
ranted by  the  word  of  God,  and  accepted  of  the  Lord. 
Tlie  expression,  "  reading  j)rayers,"  to  which  we  are  now 
so  accustomed,  is  not  to  be  found  in  Holy  Scripture,  rich 
as  it  is  in  words  for  conyeying  religious  thought :  and  the 
phrase  is  not  ther^  because  the  thing  itself  had  no  exist- 
ence. Where  in  the  writings  of  the  apostles  meet  we 
with  the  bare  idea  of  a  liturgy  ?  Prayer  in  the  assem- 
'  blies  of  the  early  Christians  was  unrestricted  to  any  form 
of  words.  Tertullian  writes,  "  we  pray  without  a  prompter 
becaiTse  from  the  heart. "  *  Justin  Martyr  describes  the 
presiding  minister  as  praying  "  according  to  his  ability."  f 
It  would  be  difficult  to  discover  when  and  where  liturgies 
began ;  their  introduction  was  gradual,  and  as  we 
believe,  coextensive  with  the  decline  of  purity  in  the 
church  ;  the  introduction  of  them  among  Nonconform- 
ists would  mark  the  era  of  our  decline  and  fall.  The 
subject  tempts  me  to  linger,  but  it  is  not  the  point 
in  hand,  and  therefore  I  pass  on,  only  remarking  you 
will  find  the  matter  of  liturgies  ably  handled  by  Dr. 
John  Owen,  whom  you  will  do  well  to  consult,  f 

Be  it  ours  to  pj'ove  the  superiority  of  exte7npore 
prayer  hy  maTcing  it  more  spiritual  a7id  earnest  than  lit- 
urgical devotion.     It  is  a  great  pity  when  the  observa- 

*  "  Deuique  sine  monitore,  quia  de  pectore  oramus." — Tertulli- 
ani  Apologet.  c.  30. 

i  "  Ocrj  6'uvafiig  avru)." — Justin  Martyr,  Apol.  i.  c.  68,  p.  270. 
Ei3.  Otto. 

J  A  Discourse  concerning  Liturgies  and  their  Imposition. 
Vol.  XV.  Owen's  Works.     Goold's  edition. 


PUBLIC   PRAYER.  87 

tion  is  forced  from  the  hearer,  our  minister  preaclies  far 
better  than  he  prays  :  this  is  not  after  tlie  model  of  our 
Lord ;  he  spake  as  never  man  spake — and  as  for  his 
])rayers,  they  so  impressed  his  discii)lcs  that  they  said, 
''Lord  teach  us  to  pray."  All  our  faculties  should  con- 
centrate their  energy,  and  the  whole  man  should  be 
elevated  to  his  higliest  point  of  vigor  while  in  public 
l^rayer,  the  Holy  Ghost  meanwhile  baptizing  soul  and 
spirit  Avith  his  sacred  influence  ;  but  slovenly,  careless, 
lifeless  talk  in  the  guise  of  prayer,  made  to  fill  up  a 
certain  space  in  the  service,  is  a  weariness  to  man,  and 
an  abomination  to  God.  Had  free  prayer  been  univer- 
sally of  a  higher  order  a  liturgy  would  never  have  been 
thought  of,  and  to-day  forms  of  prayer  have  no  better 
apology  than  the  feebleness  of  extemi^oraneous  devo- 
tions. The  secret  is  that  we  are  not  so  really  devout  at 
heart  as  we  should  be.  (Habitual  communion  with  God 
must  be  maintained,  or  our  public  prayers  will  be  vapid 
or  formal).  If  there  be  no  melting  of  the  glacier  high 
up  in  the  ravines  of  the  mountain,  there  will  be  no 
descending  rivulets  to  cheer  the  plain.  Private  prayer 
is  the  drill  ground  for  our  more  public  exercises, 
neither  can  we  long  neglect  it  Avithout  being  out  of 
order  when  before  the  people. 

Oiir  jjrayers  must  never  grovel,  they  must  soar  and 
mount.  We  need  a  heavenly  frame  of  'inind.  Our 
addresses  to  the  throne  of  gi-ace  must  be  solemn  and 
liumble,  not  flippant  and  loud,  or  formal  and  careless. 
'L'he  colloquial  form  of  speech  is  out  of  place  before  the 
Lord ;  we  must  bow  reverently  and  with  deepest  awe. 
We  may  speak  boldly  with  God,  but  still  He  is  in 
heaven  and  we  are  upon  earth,  and  we  are  to  avoid 
presumjition.  In  supplication  we  are  peculi.irly  beforo 
the  throne  of  the  Infinite,  and  as  the  courtier  in  the 


88  LECTURES  TO   MY  STUDEKTS. 

king's  palace  puts  on  another  mien  and  another  manner 
than  that  which  he  exhibits  to  his  fellow-courtiers,  so 
should  it  be  with  us.  We  have  noticed  in  the  churches 
of  Holland,  that  as  soon  as  the  minister  begins  to  preacli 
every  man  puts  his  hat  on,  but  the  instant  he  turns  to 
pray  everybody  takes  his  hat  off  :  this  was  the  custom  iu 
the  older  Puritanic  congregations  of  England,  and  it 
lingered  long  among  the  Baptists  ;  they  wore  their  caps 
during  those  parts  of  the  service  which  they  conceived 
were  not  direct  worship,  but  put  them  off  as  soon  as 
there  was  a  direct  approach  to  God,  either  in  song  or  in 
prayer.  I  think  the  practice  unseemly,  and  the  reason 
for  it  erroneous.  I  have  urged  that  the  distinction 
between  prayer  and  hearing  is  not  great,  and  I  feel 
sure  no  one  would  propose  to  return  to  the  old  custom 
or  the  opinion  of  which  it  was  the  index  ;  but  still  there 
is  a  difference,  and  inasmuch  as  in  prayer  we  are  more 
directly  talking  with  God  rather  than  seeking  the  edifi- 
cation of  our  fellow  men,  we  must  put  our  shoes  from 
off  our  feet,  for  the  place  whereon  we  stand  is  holy 
ground. 

Let  the  Lord  alone  he  the  object  of  your  prayers. 
Beware  of  having  an  eye  to  the  auditors ;  beware  of 
becoming  rhetorical  to  please  the  listeners.  Prayer 
must  not  be  transformed  into  "  an  oblique  sermon."  It 
is  little  short  of  blasphemy  to  make  devotion  an  occasion 
for  display.  Fine  prayers  are  generally  very  wicked 
]>rayers.  In  the  presence  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  it  ill 
becomes  a  sinner  to  parade  the  feathers  and  finery  of 
tawdry  speech  with  the  view  of  winning  applause  from 
his  fellow  mortals.  Hypocrites  who  dare  to  do  this  have 
their  reward,  but  it  is  one  to  be  dreaded.  A  heavy  sen- 
•  tence  of  condemnation  was  passed  upon  a  minister  when 
it  was  flatteringly  said  that  his  prayer  was  the  most 


PUBLIC   PRAYER.  89 

eloquent  ever  offered  to  a  Boston  congregation.  We 
may  aim  at  exciting  tlie  3-earnings  and  aspirations  of 
those  who  hear  ns  in  prayer ;  but  every  word  and 
thought  must  be  Godward,  and  only  so  far  touching 
upon  tlie  people  as  may  be  needful  to  bring  them  and 
their  wants  before  the  Lord.  Remember  the  people  in 
your  prayers,  but  do  not  mould  your  supplications  to 
win  their  esteem  ;  (look  up,  look  up  with  both  eyes). 

Avoid  all  vulgarities  in  prayer.  I  must  acknowl- 
edge to  having  heard  some,  but  it  would  be  unprofitable 
to  recount  them ;  the  more  especially  as  they  become 
less  frequent  every  day.  We  seldom  now  meet  with  the 
vulgarities  of  prayer  which  were  once  so  common  in 
Methodist  prayer-meetings,  much  commoner  probably  by 
report  than  in  reality.  Uneducated  people  must,  when 
in  earnest,  pray  in  their  own  way,  and  their  language 
will  frequently  shock  the  fastidious  if  not  the  devout  ; 
but  for  this  allowance  must  be  made,  and  if  the  spirit 
is  evidently  sincere  we  may  forgive  uncomely  expressions. 
I  once,  in  a  prayer-meeting,  heard  a  poor  man  pray 
thus  :  "  Lord,  watch  over  these  young  people  during 
the  feast  time,  for  thou  knowest,  Lord,  how  their  ene- 
mies watch  for  them  as  a  cat  watches  for  mice."  Some 
ridiculed  the  expression,  but  it  appeared  to  me  to  be 
natural  and  expressive,  considering  the  person  using  it. 
A  little  gentle  instruction  and  a  hint  or  two  will  usually 
prevent  a  repetition  of  anything  objectionable  in  such 
cases,  but  Ave,  who  occupy  the  pulpit,  must  be  careful 
to  be  quite  clear  ourselves.  The  biographer  of  that 
remarkable  American  Methodist  preacher,  Jacob  Gru- 
bor,  mentions  as  an  instance  of  his  ready  wit,  that  after 
having  heard  a  young  Calvinistic  minister  violently 
attack  his  creed,  he  was  asked  to  conclude  with  prayer, 
and  among  other  petitions,  prayed  that  the  Lord  would 


90  LECTURES   TO    MT    STUDENTS. 

bless  tlie  young  man  wlio  had  been  preaching,  and  grant 
him  much  grace,  "  that  his  heart  might  become  as  soft 
as  his  head."  To  say  nothing  of  the  bad  taste  of  such 
public  animadversion  upon  a  fellow  minister,  every 
right-minded  man  will  see  that  the  throne  of  the  Most 
High  is  not  the  place  for  uttering  such  vulgar  witti- 
cisms. Most  probably  the  young  orator  deserved  a 
castigation  for  his  offence  of  charity,  but  the  older 
one  sinned  ten  times  more  in  his  want  of  reverence. 
Choice  words  are  for  the  King  of  kings,  not  such  as 
ribald  tongues  have  defiled. 

Another  fault  equally  to  he  avoided  in  prayer  is  an 
nnliaUowed  and  siclcening  superabundance  of  endearing 
tvords.  When  "  Dear  Lord,"  and  "  Blessed  Lord,"  and 
"  Sweet  Lord,"  come  over  and  over  again  as  vain  repe- 
titions, they  are  among  the  worst  of  blots.  I  must  con- 
fess I  should  feel  no  revulsion  in  my  mind  to  the  words, 
*'  Dear  Jesus,"  if  they  fell  from  the  lips  of  a  Rutherford, 
or  a  Hawker,  or  a  Herbert ;  but  when  I  hear  fond  and 
familiar  expressions  hackneyed  by  persons  not  at  all  re- 
markable for  spirituality,  I  am  inclined  to  wish  that  they 
could,  in  some  way  or  other,  come  to  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  true  relation  existing  between  man  and 
God.  The  word  "  dear  "  has  come  from  daily  use  to  be 
so  common,  and  so  small,  and  in  some  cases  so  silly  and 
affected  a  monosyllable,  that  interlarding  one's  prayers 
witli  it  is  not  to  edification. 

The  strongest  objection  exists  to  the  constant  repe- 
tition of  the  word  "  Lord,"  which  occurs  in  the  early 
prayers  of  young  converts,  and  even  among  students. 
The  words,  '^0  Lord  !  0  Lord!  0  Lord!"  grieve  ua 
when  we  hear  them  so  jierpetually  repeated.  "  Thou 
Elialt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain," 
is  a  great  commandment,  and  although  the  law  may  bo 


PUBLIC    PRAYER.  91 

broken  nuwittingly,  yet  its  breach  is  still  a  sin  and  a  very 
solemn  one.  God's  name  is  not  to  be  a  stop-gap  to  make 
lip  for  our  want  of  words.  Take  care  to  use  most  I'ev- 
erently  the  name  of  the  infinite  Jehovah.  The  Jews  in 
Ihcir  sacred  writings  either  leave  a  space  for  the  word 
"Jehovah,"  or  else  write  the  word,  "  Adonai,"  because 
they  conceive  that  holy  name  to  be  too  sacred  for  com- 
mon use  ;  we  need  not  be  so  superstitious,  but  it  were 
well  to  be  scrupulously  reverent.  A  profusion  of  "  ohs  ! " 
and  other  interjections  may  be  well  dispensed  with  ; 
young  speakers  are  often  at  fault  here. 

Avoid  that  Icind  of  prayer  loliicli  may  he  called — tliough 
tlie  subject  is  one  on  which  language  has  not  given  us 
many  terms — a  sort  of  pcremjytory  demanding  of  God. 
It  is  delightful  to  hear  a  man  wrestle  with  God,  and  say, 
"  1  will  not  let  thee  go  except  thou  bless  me,  "  but  that 
must  be  said  softly,  and  not  in  a  hectoring  spirit,  as 
though  we  could  command  and  exact  blessings  from  the 
Lord  of  all.  Remember,  it  is  still  a  man  wrestling,  even 
though  permitted  to  wrestle,  with  the  eternal  I  Alsl. 
Jacob  halted  on  his  thigh  after  that  night's  holy  conflict, 
to  let  him  see  that  God  is  terrible,  and  that  his  prevailing 
power  did  not  lie  in  himself.  We  are  taught  to  say, 
*'  Our  Father,"  but  still  it  is,  ''  Our  Father  loho  art  in 
heaven. "  Familiarity  there  may  be,  but  holy  familiarity  ; 
boldness,  but  the  boldness  Avhich  sjDrings  from  grace  and 
is  the  work  of  the  Spirit  ;  not  the  boldness  of  the  rebel 
who  carries  a  brazen  front  in  the  presence  of  his  offended 
king,  but  the  boldness  of  the  child  Avho  fears  because  ho 
loves,  and  loves  because  he  fears.  Never  fall  into  a  vain- 
glorious style  of  impertinent  address  to  God  ;  he  is  not 
to  be  assailed  as  an  antagonist,  but  entreated  with  as  our 
Lord  and  God.  Humble  and  lo^ly  let  us  be  in  spirit, 
and  so  let  us  pray. 


92  LECTURES  TO   JIY   STUDENTS. 

Pray  when  y 021  profess  top)Tay,  anddonH  talk  about  it. 
Business  men  say,  "A  place  for  everytliing  and  every- 
thing in  its  place  ; "  preach  in  the  sermon  and  pray  iu 
*'the  prayer.  Disquisitions  npon  our  need  of  help  in 
prayer  are  not  prayer.  Why  do  not  men  go  at  once  to 
prayer — why  stand  beating  about  the  bush  ;  instead  of 
saying  what  they  ought  to  do  and  want  to  do,  why  not 
set  to  work  in  God's  name  and  do  it  ?  In  downright 
earnestness  address  yourself  to  intercession,  and  set  your 
face  towards  the  Lord.  Plead  for  the  supply  of  the 
great  and  constant  needs  of  the  church,  and  do  not 
fail  to  urge,  with  devout  fervor,  the  special  requirements 
of  the  present  time  and  audience.  Let  the  sick,  the  poor, 
the  dying,  the  heathen,  the  Jew,  and  all  forgotten  classes 
of  people,  be  mentioned  as  they  press  upon  your  heart. 
Pray  for  your  people  as  saints  and  sinners — not  as  if 
they  were  all  saints.  Mention  the  young  and  the  aged  ; 
the  impressed  and  the  careless  ;  the  devout  and  the  back- 
sliding. (Never  turn  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left, 
but  i^lough  on  in  the  furrow  of  real  prayer.)  Let  youi 
confessions  of  sin  and  your  thanksgivings  be  truthfuj 
and  to  the  point ;  and  let  your  petitions  be  presented  a? 
if  you  believed  in  God  and  had  no  doubt  as  to  the  effi- 
cacy of  prayer  :  I  say  this,  because  so  many  pray  in  such 
a  formal  manner  as  to  lead  observers  to  conclude  that 
they  thought  it  a  very  decent  thing  to  pray,  but,  after 
all,  a  very  poor  and  doubtful  business  as  to  any  practical 
result.  Pray  as  one  who  has  tried  and  proved  his  God, 
and  therefore  comes  with  undoubting  confidence  to 
renew  his  pleadings  :  and  do  remember  to  pray  to  God 
right  through  the  prayer,  and  never  fall  to  talking  or 
preaching — much  less,  as  some  do,  to  scolding  and 
grumbling. 

As  a  rule,  if  called  upon  to  preach,   conduct   the 


PUBLIC   PRAYER.  93 

prayer  yourself ;  and  if  you  should  be  liiglily  esteemed 
in  ilie  ministry,  as  I  trust  you  may  be,  make  a  point, 
witli  great  courtesy,  but  equal  firmness,  to  resist  the 
practice  of  choosing  men  to  pray  with  the  idea  of  honor- 
ing them  by  giving  them  something  to  do.  Our  public 
devotions  ought  never  to  be  degraded  into  opportunities 
for  compliment.  I  have  heard  prayer  and  singing  now 
and  then  called  "  the  preliminary  services,"  as  if  they 
were  but  a  jireface  to  the  sermon  ;  this  is  rare,  I  hope, 
among  us — if  it  were  common  it  would  be  to  our 
deep  disgrace.  I  endeavor  invariably  to  take  all  the 
service  myself  for  my  own  sake,  and  I  think  also  for  the 
people's.  I  do  not  believe  that  ''anybody  will  do  for 
the  praying."  No,  sirs,  it  is  my  solemn  conviction  that 
the  prayer  is  one  of  the  most  weighty,  useful,  and  hon- 
orable parts  of  the  service,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  even' 
more  considered  tlian  the  sermon.  There  must  be  no 
putting  up  of  anybodies  and  nobodies  to  pray,  and  then 
the  selection  of  the  abler  man  to  preach.  It  may  hap- 
pen through  weakness,  or  upon  a  special  occasion,  that 
it  may  be  a  relief  to  the  minister  to  have  some  one  to 
offer  prayer  for  him  ;  but  if  the  Lord  has  made  you 
love  your  work  you  will  not  often  or  readily  fulfil  this 
part  of  it  by  proxy.  If  you  delegate  the  service  at  all, 
let  it  be  to  one  in  whose  spirituality  and  present  pre- 
paredness you  have  the  fullest  confidence  ;  but  to  pitch 
on  a  giftless  brother  unaAvares,  and  put  him  forward  to 
get  through  the  devotions  is  shameful. 

"  Shall  we  serve  heaven  with  less  respect 
Than  we  do  minister  to  our  gross  selves?" 

Appoint  the  ablest  man  to  pray,  and  let  the  sermon 
I)e  slurred  sooner  than  the  approach  to  heaven.  Let 
the  Infinite  Jehovah  be  served  with  our  best ;  let  prayer 


94  LECTUEES  TO   MY   STUBEXT3. 

adilressed  to  the  Divine  Majesty  be  carefully  wtighed. 
and  presented  with  all  the  powers  of  an  awakened  heart 
and  a  spiritual  understanding.  He  who  has  been  by 
communion  with  God  prepared  to  minister  to  the  peo- 
ple, is  usually  of  all  men  present  the  most  fit  to  engage 
in  prayer ;  to  lay  out  a  programme  which  puts  up  an- 
other brother  in  his  place,  is  to  mar  the  harmony  of  the 
service,  to  rob  the  preacher  of  an  exercise  which  would 
brace  him  for  his  sermon,  and  in  many  instances  to  sug- 
gest comparisons  between  one  part  of  the  service  and 
Dhe  other  which  ought  never  to  be  tolerated.  If  unpre- 
pared brethren  are  to  be  sent  into  the  pulpit  to  do  by 
praying  for  me  when  I  am  engaged  to  j^re^ich,  I  do  not 
see  why  I  might  not  be  allowed  to  pray,  and  then  retire 
to  let  these  brethren  do  the  sermonizing.  I  am  not  able 
to  see  any  reason  for  depriving  me  of  the  holiest,  sweet- 
est, and  most  profitable  exercise  which  my  Lord  has 
allotted  me  ;  if  I  may  have  my  choice,  I  will  sooner  yield 
up  the  sermon  than  the  prayer.  Thus  much  I  have 
said  in  order  to  impress  upon  you  that  you  must  highly 
esteem  public  pra3^er,  and  seek  of  the  Lord  for  the  gifts 
and  graces  necessary  to  its  right  discharge. 

Those  who  despise  all  extempore  prayer  will  \)yo- 
bably  catch  at  these  remarks  and  use  them  against  it, 
but  I  can  assure  them  that  the  faults  adverted  to  are 
not  common  among  us,  and  are  indeed  almost  extinct ; 
while  the  scandal  caused  by  them  never  was,  at  the 
worst,  so  great  as  that  caused  by  the  way  in  which  the 
liturgical  service  is  often  performed.  Far  too  often  is 
the  church  service  hurried  through  in  a  manner  as  in- 
devout  as  if  it  were  a  ballad-singer's  ditty.  The  words 
are  parroted  without  the  slightest  appreciation  of  their 
meaning ;  not  sometimes,  but  very  frequently,  in  the 
places  set  apart  for  Episcopal  worsliip,  you  may  see  the 


PUBLIC   PRAYER.  05 

eyes  of  the  people,  and  tlio  eyes  of  tlic  choristers,  and 
the  eyes  of  the  parson  hhnself,  wandering  about  iu  all 
directions,  "while  evidently  from  the  very  tone  cf  the 
]-eading  there  is  no  feeling  of  sympathy  Avith  what  has 
been  read.*,  I  have  been  at  fnnerals  when  the  burial 
service  of  the  church  of  England  has  been  galloped 
through  so  indecorously  that  it  has  taken  all  the  grace  I 
had  to  prevent  my  throwing  a  hassock  at  the  creature's 
head.  I  have  felt  so  indignant  that  I  have  not  known 
what  to  do,  to  hear,  in  the  presence  of  mourners  whose 
hearts  were  bleeding,  a  man  rattling  through  the  service 
as  if  he  wei-e  paid  by  the  piece,  and  had  more  work  to 
follow,  and  therefore  desired  to  get  it  througli  as  quickly 
as  possible.  What  effect  he  could  think  he  was  produ- 
cing, or  what  good  result  could  come  from  words  jerked 
forth  and  hurled  out  with  vengeance  and  vehemence,  I 
cannot  imagine.  It  is  really  shocking  to  tliink  of  how 
tliat  very  wonderful  burial  service  is  murdered,  and  made 
into  an  abomination,  by  the  mode  in  which  it  is  fre- 
quently read.  I  merely  mention  this  because,  if  they 
criticise  our  prayers  too  severely,  we  can  bring  a  formid- 
able countercharge  to  silence  them.  Better  far,  liow- 
ever,  for  us  to  amend  our  own  blunders  than  find  fault 
with  others. 

In  order  to  make  our  public  prayer  what  it  should  be, 
the  first  necessary  is,  that  it  imist  be  a  matter  of  the  heart. 
A  man  must  be  really  in  earnest  in  supplication.  It 
nnist  be  true  prayer,  and  if  it  be  such,  it  will,  like  love, 
cover  a  multitude  of  sins.  You  can  pardon  a  man's 
familiarities  and  his  vulgarities  too,  when  you  clearly 
see  that  his  inmost  heart  is  speaking  to  his  Maker,  and 
that  it  is  only  the  man's  defects  of  education  which  create 

*  It  is  but  fair  to  admit,  and  we  do  so  witli  pleasure,  that  of 
late  years  this  fault  has  grown  more  and  more  rare. 


96  LECTURES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

"liis  faults,  and  not  any  moral  or  spiritual  vices  of  his 
heart.  The  pleader  in  public  must  be  in  earnest ;  for 
a  sleepy  prayer — what  can  be  a  worse  preparation  for  a 
sermon  ?  A  sleepy  prayer — what  can  make  people  more 
dislike  going  up  to  the  house  of  God  at  all  ?  Cast  your 
Avhole  soul  into  the  exercise.  If  ever  your  whole  man- 
hood was  engaged  in  anything,  let  it  be  in  drawing  near 
unto  God  in  public.  So  pray  that,  by  a  divine  attrac- 
tion, you  draw  the  whole  congregation  with  you  up  to  the 
throne  of  God.  So  pray,  that  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  resting  on  you,  you  express  the  desires  and  thoughts 
of  every  one  present,  and  stand  as  the  one  voice  for  the 
hundreds  of  beating  hearts  which  are  glowing  with  fer- 
vor before  the  throne  of  God. 

Next  to  this,  our  prayers  must  be  appropr'iate.  I  do 
not  say  go  into  every  minute  detail  of  the  circumstances 
of  tlie  congregation.  As  I  have  said  before,  there  is  no 
need  to  make  the  public  prayer  a  gazette  of  the  week's 
events,  or  a  register  of  the  births,  deaths,  and  marriages 
of  your  people,  but  the  general  movements  that  have 
taken  place  in  the  congregation  should  be  noted  by  the 
minister's  careful  heart.  He  should  bring  the  joys  and 
sorrows  of  his  people  alike  before  the  throne  of  grace, 
and  ask  that  tlie  divine  benediction  may  rest  upon  his 
flock  in  all  their  movements,  their  exercises,  engagements, 
and  holy  enterprises,  and  that  the  forgiveness  of  God 
may  be  extended  to  their  shortcomings  and  innumer- 
able sins. 

Then,  by  way  of  negative  canon,  I  should  say,  do  not 
lei  your  prayer  he  long.  I  think  it  was  John  Macdonald 
wlio  used  to  say,  '*  If  you  are  in  the  spirit  of  prayer,  do 
not  be  long,  because  other  people  will  not  be  able  to  keep 
pace  with  you  in  such  unusual  spirituality;  and  if  you 
are  not  in  the  sjiirit  of  prayer,  do  not  be  long,  because 


PUBLIC    PRAYER.  97 

you  will  then  be  sure  to  wcury  the  listeners."  Living- 
stone says  of  liobcrt  Bruce,  of  Edinburgh,  the  famous  co- 
temporary  of  Andre Av  Melville,  "  No  man  in  his  time 
spoke  with  such  evidence  and  power  of  tlie  8})irit.  No 
man  had  so  many  seals  of  conversion  ;  yea,  many  of  his 
hearers  thought  no  man,  since  the  apostles,  spake  with 
such  power.  .  .  lie  was  very  short  in  prayer  when 
others  were  present,  but  every  sentence  was  like  a  strong 
bolt  shot  up  to  heaven.  I  heard  him  say  that  he  wearied 
when  others  were  long  in  jirayer ;  but,  being  alone,  he 
spent  much  time  in  wrestling  and  prayer. "  A  man  may, 
on  special  occasions,  if  he  be  unusually  moved  and  car- 
ried out  of  himself,  pray  for  twenty  minutes  in  the  long 
morning  prayer,  but  this  should  not  often  happen.  My 
friend,  Dr.  Charles  Brown,  of  Edinburgh,  lays  it  doAvn, 
as  a  result  of  his  deliberate  judgment,  that  ten  minutes 
is  the  limit  to  which  public  prayer  ought  to  be  prolonged. 
Our  Puritanic  forefathers  used  to  pray  for  three-quarters 
of  an  hour,  or  more,  but  tlien  you  must  recollect  that 
they  did  not  know  that  they  would  ever  have  the  o])i>or- 
t unity  of  praying  again  before  an  assembly,  and  there- 
fore, took  their  fill  of  it ;  and  besides,  people  were  not 
inclined  in  those  days  to  quarrel  with  the  length  of 
prayers  or  of  sermons  so  much  as  they  do  nowadays. 
You  cannot  pray  too  long  in  private.  We  do  not  limit 
you  to  ten  minutes  there,  or  ten  hours,  or  ten  v\^eeks  if  you 
like.  The  more  you  are  on  your  knees  alone  the  better. 
We  are  now  speaking  of  those  public  prayers  which  come 
before  or  after  the  sermon,  and  for  these  ten  minutes  is  a 
better  limit  than  fifteen.  Only  one  in  a  thousand  would 
complain  of  you  for  being  too  short,  while  scores  will 
murmur  at  your  being  wearisome  in  length.  "  He  jirayed 
me  into  a  good  frame  of  mind,"  George  Whitfield  once 
said  of  a  certain  preacher,  *'  and  if  he  had  stopped  there, 
5 


98  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

it  would  have  been  very  well  ;  but  be  prayed  me  out  of 
it  again  by  keeping  on."  The  abundant  longsuirering 
of  God  has  been  exemplified  in  his  sparing  some  preach- 
ers, who  have  been  great  sinners  in  this  direction  ;  they 
have  done  much  injury  to  the  piety  of  God's  peojole  by 
their  long-winded  orations,  and  yet  God,  in  his  mercy, 
has  permitted  them  still  to  officiate  in  the  sanctuary. 
Alas  !  for  those  who  have  to  listen  to  pastors  who  pray  in 
public  for  five-and-twenty  minutes,  and  then  ask  God  to 
forgive  their  "  shortcomings  "  I  Do  not  be  too  long, 
for  several  reasons.  First,  because  you  weary  yourselves 
and  the  people  ;  and  secondly,  because  being  too  long  in 
prayer,  puts  your  people  out  of  heart  for  hearing  the 
sermon.  All  those  dry,  dull,  prolix  talkifications  in 
prayer,  do  but  blunt  the  attention,  and  the  ear  gets,  as 
it  were,  choked  up.  Nobody  would  think  of  blocking 
up  Ear-gate  with  mud  or  stones  when  he  meant  to  storm 
the  gate.  No,  let  the  portal  be  cleared  that  the  batter- 
ing-ram of  the  gospel  may  tell  upon  it  when  the  time 
comes  to  use  it.  Long  prayers  consist  of  repetitions,  or 
else  of  unnecessary  explanations  which  God  does  not 
require  ;  or  else  they  degenerate  into  downright  preach- 
ings, so  that  there  is  no  difference  between  the  praying 
and  the  preaching,  except  that  in  the  one  the  minister 
has  his  eyes  shut,  and  in  the  other  he  keeps  them  open. 
It  is  not  necessary  in  prayer  to  rehearse  the  Westminster 
Assembly's  Catechism.  It  is  not  necessary  in  prayer  to 
relate  the  experience  of  all  the  jieople  who  are  present, 
or  even  your  own.  It  is  not  necessary  in  prayer  to  string 
a  selection  of  texts  of  Scripture  together,  and  quote 
David,  and  Daniel,  and  Job,  and  Paul,  and  Peter,  and 
every  other  body,  under  the  title  of  "  thy  servant  of  old." 
It  IS  necessary  in  prayer  to  draw  near  unto  God,  but  it  i3 


PUBLIC   PRATER.  99 

not  required  of  you  to  prolong  your  speech  till  everyone 
is  longing  to  hear  the  word  "Amen." 

One  little  hint  I  cannot  Avitlihold — never  appear  to  be 
closing,  and  then  start  off  again  for  another  five  minutes. 
Wlien  friends  make  up  their  minds  that  you  are  about  to 
conclude,  they  cannot  with  a  jerk  proceed  again  in  a  de- 
vout spirit.  I  have  known  men  tantalize  us  with  the 
hope  that  tliey  were  draAving  to  a  close,  and  then  take  a 
fresh  lease  two  or  three  times  ;  this  is  most  unwise  and 
unpleasant. 

Another  canon  is — do  not  use  cant  phrases.  My 
brethren,  have  done  with  those  vile  things  altogether; 
they  have  had  their  day,  and  let  them  die.  These  pieces 
of  spiritual  fustian  cannot  be  too  much  reprobated.  Some 
of  them  are  pu]-e  inventions  ;  others  are  passages  taken 
from  the  Apocrj^j^ha  ;  others  are  texts  fathered  upon 
Scripture,  but  which  have  been  fearfully  mangled  since 
they  came  from  the  Author  of  the  Bible.  In  the  Baptist 
Magazine  for  18G1 1  made  the  following  remarks  upon  the 
common  vulgarities  of  prayer-meetings.  "  Cant  phrases 
are  a  great  evil.  Who  can  justify  such  expressions  as  the 
following  ?  '  We  would  not  I'ush  into  tliij  presence  as  the 
iinthinking  (!  ! )  horse  into  the  battle.^  As  if  horses  ever 
did  think,  and  as  if  it  were  not  better  to  exhibit  the  spirit 
and  energy  of  the  horse  than  the  sluggishness  and  stupid- 
ity of  the  ass  !  As  the  verso  from  which  we  imagine 
this  fine  sentence  to  be  derived  has  more  to  do  with  sin- 
ning than  with  praying,  we  are  glad  that  the  phrase  is  on  ■ 
its  last  legs.  'Go  from  heart  to  heart,  as  oil  from  vessel 
to  vessel,^  is  probably  a  quotation  from  the  nursery  romance 
of  '  Ali  Baba,  and  the  Forty  Thieves,'  but  as  destitute  of 
sense,  Scripture,  and  poetry,  as  ever  sentence  could  be 
conceived  to  be.  We  are  not  aware  that  oil  runs  from 
one  vessel  to  another  in  any  very  mysterious  or  wonderful 


100  LECTUEES  TO  MT  STUDEKTS. 

manner  ;  it  is  true  it  is  rather  slow  in  coming  out,  and 
is  therefore  an  apt  symbol  of  some  people's  earnestness  ; 
but  surely  it  would  be  better  to  have  the  grace  direct 
from  heaven  than  to  have  it  out  of  another  vessel — a 
Popish  idea  which  the  metaphor  seems  to  insinuate,  if 
indeed  it  has  any  meaning  at  all.  '  Thy  poor  imworthy 
dust/  an  epithet  generally  applied  to  themselves  by  tlie 
proudest  men  in  the  congregation,  and  not  seldom  by  the 
most  moneyed  and  grovelling,  in  which  case  the  last  two 
words  are  not  so  very  inappropriate.  We  have  heard  of  a 
good  man  who,  in  pleading  for  his  children  and  grand- 
children, was  so  completely  beclouded  in  the  blinding  in- 
fluence of  this  expression,  that  he  exclaimed,  '  0  Lord, 
save  thy  dust,  and  thy  dust's  dust,  and  thy  dust's  dust's 
dust.'  When  Abraham  said,  'I  have  taken  upon  me  to 
speak  unto  the  Lord,  which  am  but  dust  and  ashes,'  the 
utterance  Avas  forcible  and  expressive ;  but  in  its  mis- 
quoted, perverted,  and  abused  form,  the  sooner  it  is  con- 
signed to  its  own  element  the  better.  A  miserable  con- 
glomeration of  perversions  of  Scripture,  uncouth  similes, 
and  ridiculous  metaphors,  constitute  a  sort  of  spiritual 
slang,  the  offspring  of  unholy  ignorance,  unmanly  imita- 
tion, or  graceless  hypocrisy  ;  they  are  at  once  a  dishonor 
to  those  who  constantly  repeat  them,  and  an  intolerable 
nuisance  to  those  whose  ears  are  jaded  with  them." 

Dr.  Charles  Brown,  of  Edinburgh,  in  an  admirable 
address  at  a  meeting  of  the  New  College  Missionary 
Association,  gives  instances  of  current  misquotations  in- 
digenous to  Scotland,  which  sometimes,  liowever,  find 
their  way  across  the  Tweed.  By  his  permission,  I  shall 
quote  at  length.  "  There  is  what  might  be  called  an 
unhappy,  sometimes,  quite  grotesque,  mingling  of  Scrip- 
ture texts.  Who  is  not  familiar  with  the  following  words 
addressed  to  God  in  prayer,  '  Thou  art  the  high  and  lofty 


PUBLIC   PEAYER.  101 

One  that  inhabitctli  eternity,  and  the  praises  thereof'  1 
which  is  but  a  jumble  of  two  glorious  texts,  each  glori- 
ous taken  by  itself — both  marred,  and  one  altogether  lost 
indeed,  when  thus  combined  and  mingled.     The  one  is 
Isaiah  Ivii;  15,  '  Thus  saith  the  high  and  lofty  One,  that 
inhal)iteth  eternity,  whose  name  is  Holy.'     The  other  is. 
Psalm  xxii.  3,  '  Thou  art  holy,  0  thou  that  inhabitest 
the  praises  of  Israel.'    The  inhabiting  of  the  jn-aises  of 
eternity,  to   say  the  least,  is   meagre  ;   there  were  no 
praises  in  the  past  eternity  to  inhabit.     But  what  a  glory 
there  is  in  God's  condescending  to  inhabit,  take  up  his 
very  abode,  in  the  praises  of   Israel,  of  the  ransomed 
church.     Then  there  is  an  example  nothing  less  than 
grotesque  under  this  head,  and  yet  one  in  such  frequent 
use  that  I  suspect  it  is  very  generally  regarded  as  having 
the  sanction  of  Scrij^ture.     Here  it  is,  'We  would  put 
our  hand  on  our  mouth,  and  our  mouth  in  the  dust,  and 
cry  out.  Unclean,  unclean ;  God  be  merciful  to  us  sin- 
ners. '    This  is  no  fcAver  than  four  texts  joined,  each  beau- 
tiful by  itself.     First,  Job  xl.  4,  '  Behold,  I  am  vile  ; 
what  shall  I  ansAver  thee  ?    I  will  lay  my  hand  upon  my 
mouth.'     Second,  Lamentations  iii.  29,  '  He  putteth  his 
mouth  in  the  dust ;  if  so  be  there  may  be  liojte.'     Third, 
Leviticus  xiii.  45,  where  the  leper  is  directed  to  put  a 
covering  upon  his  upper  lip,  and  to  cry.  Unclean,  un- 
clean.    And  fourth,   the  publican's  j)rayer.     But  how 
incongruous  a  man's  first  putting  his  hand  on  his  mouth, 
then  putting  his  mouth  in  the  dust,  and,  last  of  all,  cr}-- 
ing  out,  etc.  !     Tlic  only  other  example  I  give  is  an  ex- 
pression  nearly   universal   among  us,    and,    I   suspect, 
almost  universally  thought  to  be  in  Scripture,  '  In  thy 
favor  is  life,  and  thy  lovingkindness  is  better  than  life.' 
The  fact  is,  that  this  also  is  just  an  unhappy  combination 
of  two  passages,  in  which  the  term  life  is  used  in  alto- 


102  LECTUEES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

gether  different,  and  even  incompatible  senses,  namely, 
Psalm  Ixiii.  3,  '  Thy  lovingkindness  is  better  than  life,' 
where,  evidently,  life  means  the  present  temporal  life. 

"  A  second  class  may  be  described  as  unhappy  altera- 
tions of  Scripture  language.  Need  I  say  that  the  loOtli 
Psalm,  '  Out  of  the  depths,'  etc.,  is  one  of  the  most  pre- 
cious in  the  whole  book  of  the  Psalms  ?  Why  must  we 
have  the  words  of  David  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  thus 
given  in  public  prayer,  and  so  constantly  that  our  pious 
people  come  all  to  adopt  it  into  their  social  and  family 
prayers,  '  There  is  forgiveness  with  thee,  that  thou 
mayest  be  feared,  and  plenteous  redemption  that  tliou 
mcujest  he  sought  after,''  or  '  unto '  ?  IIow  precious  the 
simple  words  as  they  stand  in  the  Psalm  (verse  4), 
'  There  is  forgiveness  with  thee,  that  thou  mayest  be 
feared '  (verses  7,  8)  ;  '  With  the  Lord  there  is  mercy, 
and  with  him  is  plenteous  redemption  ;  and  he  shall 
redeem  Israel  from  all  his  iniquities  ! '  Again  in  this 
blessed  Psalm,  the  words  of  the  third  verse,  'If  thou, 
Lord,  shouldest  mark  iniquities,  0  Lord,  who  shall 
stand  ?  '  too  seldom  are  left  us  in  their  naked  simplicity, 
but  must  undergo  the  following  change,  '  If  thou  wert 
strict  to  mark  iniquity,'  etc.  I  remember  in  my  old 
college  days,  Ave  used  to  have  it  in  a  much  more  offen- 
sive shape.  If  thou  Avert  strict  to  mark  and  rigorous  to 
punish!  Another  favorite  change  is  the  folloAving, 
*  Thou  art  in  heaven,  and  we  upon  earth  ;  therefore  let 
our  Avords  be  Iqv^  and  well  ordered.''  Solomon's  simple 
and  sublime  ntterance  (full  of  instruction,  surely,  on 
the  Avhole  theme  I  am  dealing  Avith)  is,  '  God  is  in  heaven, 
and  thou  upon  earth  ;  therefore  let  thy  Avords  he  fciu.' 
Ercles.  \.  2.  For  another  example  under  this  class  see 
how  Habakkuk's  sublime  Avords  are  tortured,  '  Thou  art 
of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  evil,  and  canst  not  look  on 


PUBLIC    PRAYER.  103 

sin  without  abhorrence.'  The  words  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
are  (Heb.  i.  13),  'Thou  art  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold 
evil,  and  canst  not  look  on  iniquity.'  Need  I  say  that 
the  j)Ower  of  the  figure,  '  canst  not  look  on  iniquity '  is 
nearly  lost  when  you  add  that  God  can  look  on  it,  only 
not  without  abhorrence  ? 

"  A  third  class  is  made  up  of  meaningless  pleonasms, 
vulgar,  common-place  redundancies  of  expression,  in 
quoting  from  the  Scriptures.  One  of  these  has  become 
so  universal,  tlnit  I  venture  to  say  you  seldom  miss  it, 
Avhen  the  passage  referred  to  comes  up  at  all.  '  Be  in 
the  midst  of  us '  (or,  as  some  prefer  to  express  it,  some- 
what unfortunately,  as  I  think,  '  in  our  midst '),  '  to  bless 
us,  and  to  do  its  good.'  What  additional  idea  is  there  in 
the  last  expression,  '  and  to  do  us  good  '  ?  The  passage 
referred  to  is  Exodus  xx.  24,  'In  all  places  where  I 
record  my  name,  I  will  come  unto  you,  and  I  Avill  bless 
you,'  Such  is  the  simplicity  of  Scripture.  Our  addition 
is,  '  Bless  us,  and  do  us  good.'  In  Daniel  iv.  35,  we 
read  the  noble  words,  '  None  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say 
unto  him,  AVhat  doest  thou  ? '  The  favorite  change  is, 
'None  can  stay  thy  hand  from  loorking.'  '  Eye  hath 
not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for 
them  that  love  him  ! '  This  is  changed,  '  Neither  hath 
it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive  the  things.' 
Constantly  we  hear  God  addressed  as  '  the  hearer  and 
answerer  of  prayer,'  a  mere  vulgar  and  useless  pleonasm, 
for  the  Scripture  idea  of  God's  hearing  prayer  is  just 
his  answering  it — '  0  thou  that  hearest  prayer,  unto 
thee  shall  all  flesh  come  ; '  '  Hear  my  prayer,  0  Lord  ; ' 
'  I  love  the  Lord  because  he  hath  heard  my  voice  and 
my  supplications.'  "Whence,  again,  that  common-place 
of  public  prayer,  '  The  consolations  are  neither  few  nor 


10-i  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

small '  ?  The  reference,  I  suiDpose,  is  to  those  words  of 
Job,  '  Are  the  consolations  of  God  small  with  thee  ? ' 
So  one  scarce  ever  hears  that  prayer  of  the  seventy 
fourth  Psalm,  '  Have  respect  to  the  covenant,  for  the 
dark  places  of  the  earth  are  fnll  of  the  habitations  of 
cruelty,'  without  the  addition,  '  liorrid  cruelty  ; '  nor 
the  call  to  prayer  in  Isaiah,  *  Keep  not  silence,  and  give 
liim  no  rest,  till  he  establish,  and  till  he  make  Jerusalem 
a  praise  in  the  earth,'  without  the  addition,  '  the  wliole 
earth  ; '  nor  that  appeal  of  the  Psalmist,  '  Whom  have 
I  in  heaven  but  thee,  and  there  is  none  upon  earth  that 
I  desire  beside  thee,'  without  the  addition,  '  none  in  all 
the  earth,'  These  last  may  seem  small  matters,  indeed. 
And  so  they  are,  nor  were  worth  finding  fault  with,  did 
they  occur  but  occasionally.  But  viewed  as  stereotyped 
common-places,  weak  enough  in  themselves,  and  occur- 
ring so  often  as  to  give  an  impression  of  their  having 
Scripture  authority,  I  humbly  think  they  ought  to  be 
discountenanced  and  discarded — banished  Avholly  from 
our  Presbyterian  worship.  It  will,  perhaps,  surprise  you 
to  learn  that  the  only  Scripture  authority  for  that 
favorite,  and  somewhat  peculiar  expression,  about  the 
'  wicked  rolling  sin  as  a  sweet  morsel  under  their  tongue,' 
is  the  following  words  in  the  book  of  Job  (xx.  12), 
'  Though  wickedness  be  sweet  in  his  mouth,  though  he 
liide  it  under  his  tongue.'" 

But  enough  of  tliis.  I  am  only  sorry  to  have  felt 
bound  in  conscience  to  be  so  long  upon  so  unhappy  a 
6nl)ject.  I  cannot,  however,  leave  the  point  without 
urging  upon  you  literal  accuracy  in  all  quotations  from 
the  word  of  God. 

It  ought  to  be  a  point  of  honor  among  ministers 
always  to  quote  Scripture  correctly.  It  is  difficult  to  be 
always  correct,  and  because  it  is  difficult,  it  should  be  alJ 


PUBLIC    PRAYER.  105 

the  more  the  object  of  our  care.  In  tlie  halls  of  Oxford 
or  Cambridge  it  would  be  considered  almost  treason  or 
felony  for  a  fellow  to  misquote  Tacitus,  or  Virgil,  or 
Homer  ;  but  for  a  preacher  to  misquote  Paul,  or  Moses, 
or  David,  is  a  far  more  serious  matter,  and  quite  as  Avor- 
tliy  of  the  severest  censure.  Mark,  I  said  a  "fellow," 
not  a  freshman,  and  from  a  pastor  Ave  expect,  at  least, 
equal  accuracy  in  his  OAvn  department  as  from  the  holder 
of  a  fellowship.  You  who  so  unwaveringly  believe  in  the 
verbal-inspiration  theory  (to  my  intense  satisfaction), 
ought  never  to  quote  at  all  until  you  can  give  the  precise 
words,  because,  according  to  your  own  showing,  by  the 
alteration  of  a  single  word  you  may  miss  altogether  God's 
sense  of  the  passage.  If  you  cannot  make  extracts  from 
Scripture  correctly,  why  quote  at  all  in  your  petitions  ? 
JMake  use  of  an  expression  fresh  from  your  own  mind, 
.ind  it  Avill  be  quite  as  acceptable  to  God  as  a  scriptural 
phrase  defaced  or  clipped.  Vehemently  strive  against 
garblings  and  perversions  of  Scripture,  and  renounce  for 
ever  all  cant  phrases,  for  they  are  the  disfigurement  of 
free  prayer. 

I  have  noticed  a  habit  among  some — I  hope  you  haA'e 
not  fallen  into  it — of  praying  with  their  eyes  open.  It 
is  unnatural,  unbecoming,  and  disgusting.  Occasionally 
the  opened  e3'e  uplifted  to  heaven  may  be  suitable  and 
impressive,  but  to  be  gazing  about  while  professing  to 
address  the  unseen  God  is  detestable.  In  the  earliest 
ages  of  the  church  the  fathers  denounced  this  unseemly 
practice.  Action  in  pl-aycr  should  be  very  little  used,  if 
at  all.  It  is  scarcely  comely  to  lift  and  move  the  arm,  as 
if  in  preaching ;  the  outstretched  arms  however,  or  the 
clasped  hands,  are  natural  and  suggestive  when  under 
strong  holy  excitement.  The  voice  should  accord  with 
the  matter,  and  should  never  be  boisterous,  or  self-assert- 
5* 


106  LECTURES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

ing  :  humble  and  reverent  let  those  tones  be  in  Avhich 
man  talkctli  with  his  God.  Doth  not  even  nature  itself 
teach  you  this  ?    If  grace  does  not,  I  despair. 

With  special  regard  to  your  prayers  in  the  Sabbatli 
services,  a  few  sentences  may  be  iiscful.  In  order  to 
prevent  custom  and  routine  from  being  enthroned  among 
us,  it  Avill  be  well  to  vary  tlie  order  of  service  as  much 
as  possible.  "Whatever  the  free  Sjnrit  moves  us  to 
do,  that  let  us  do  at  once.  I  was  not  till  lately  aware 
of  the  extent  to  which  the  control  of  deacons  has  been 
allowed  to  intrude  itself  upon  ministers  in  certain  be- 
nighted churches.  I  have  always  been  accustomed  to 
conduct  r-eligious  services  in  the  way  I  have  thought  most 
suitable  and  edifying,  and  I  never  have  heard  so  much  as 
a  word  of  objection,  although  I  trust  I  can  say  I  live  on 
the  dearest  intimacy  with  my  officers  ;  but  a  brother 
minister  told  me  this  morning,  that  on  one  occasion,  he 
prayed  in  the  morning  service  at  the  commencement  in- 
stead of  giving  out  a  hymn,  and  when  he  retired  into  the 
vestry,  after  service,  the  deacons  informed  him  that  they 
would  have  no  innovations.  "We  hitherto  understood 
that  Baptist  churches  are  not  under  bondage  to  traditions 
and  fixed  rules  as  to  modes  of  worshijD,  and  yet  these 
poor  creatures,  these  would-be  lords,  Avho  cry  out  loudly 
enough  against  a  liturgy,  would  bind  their  minister  with 
rubrics  made  by  custom.  It  is  time  that  such  nonsense 
were  for  ever  silenced.  We  claim  to  conduct  service  as 
the  Holy  Spirit  moves  us,  and  as  we  judge  best.  We 
will  not  be  bound  to  sing  here  and  pray  there,  but  will 
vary  the  order  of  service  to  prevent  monotony.  Mr. 
Ilinton,  I  have  heard,  once  preached  the  sermon  at  the 
commencement  of  the  service,  so  that  those  who  came 
late  might  at  any  rate  have  an  opportunity  to  pray.  And 
why  not  ?     Irregularities  would  do  good,  monotony  v/orks 


PUBLIC    PRATER.  107 

weariness.  It  will  frequently  be  a  most  profitable  thing 
to  let  the  people  sit  quite  still  in  profound  silence  for  two 
or  live  minutes.     Solemn  silence  makes  noble  worship. 

True  prayer  is  not  the  noisy  sound 

That  clamorous  lips  repeat, 
But  the  deep  silence  of  a  soul 

That  clasps  Jehovah's  feet. 

Vary  the  order  of  your  prayers,  then,  for  the  sake  of 
maintaining  attention,  and  preventing  people  going 
through  the  whole  thing  as  a  clock  runs  on  till  the 
weights  are  down. 

Vari/  the  lencjtU  of  yoiir  puUic  j^rayers.  Do  you  not 
think  it  Avould  be  much  better  if  sometimes  instead  of 
giving  three  minutes  to  the  first  prayer  and  fifteen  min- 
utes to  the  second,  you  gave  nine  minutes  to  each  ? 
"Would  it  not  be  better  sometimes  to  be  longer  in  the  first, 
and  not  so  long  in  the  second  prayer  ?  Would  not  two 
prayers  of  tolerable  length  be  better  than  one  extremely 
long  and  one  extremely  short  ?  Would  it  not  be  as  well 
to  have  a  hymn  after  reading  the  chapter,  or  a  verse  or 
two  before  the  prayer  ?  Why  not  sing  four  times,  occa- 
sionally ?  Why  not  be  content  with  two  hymns,  or  only 
one,  occasionally  ?  Why  sing  after  sermon  ?  Why,  on 
the  other  hand,  do  some  never  sing  at  the  close  of  the 
service  ?  Is  a  prayer  after  sermon  always,  or  even  often, 
advisable  ?  Is  it  not  sometimes  most  impressive  ?  Would 
not  the  Iloly  Spirit's  guidance  secure  us  a  variety  at 
present  unknown  ?  Let  us  have  anything  so  that  our 
people  do  not  come  to  regard  any  form  of  service  as  be- 
ing appointed,  and  so  relapse  into  the  superstition  from 
which  they  have  escaped. 

Vary  the  current  of  your  prayers  in  intercession. 
There  are  many  topics  which  require  your  attention  ;  the 


108  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

church  in  its  weakness,  its  backslidings,  its  sorrows,  and 
its  comforts  ;  the  outside  world,  the  neighborhood,  un- 
converted hearers,  the  young  people,  the  nation.  Do  not 
pray  for  all  these  every  time,  or  otherwise  your  prayers 
will  be  long  and  uninteresting.  Whatever  topic  shall 
come  upjDermost  to  your  heart,  let  that  be  uppermost  in 
your  supplications.  There  is  a  way  of  taking  a  line  of 
prayer,  if  the  Holy  Spirit  shall  guide  you  therein,  which 
will  make  the  service  all  of  a  piece,  and  harmonize  with 
the  hymns  and  discourse.  It  is  very  useful  to  maintain 
unity  in  the  service  where  you  can  ;  not  slavishly,  but 
wisely,  so  that  the  effect  is  one.  Certain  brethren  do  not 
even  manage  to  keep  unity  in  the  sermon,  but  wander 
from  Britain  to  Japan,  and  bring  in  all  imaginable  sub- 
jects ;  but  you  who  have  attained  to  the  preservation  of 
unity  in  the  sermon  might  go  a  little  farther,  and  exhibit 
a  degree  of  unity  in  the  service,  being  careful  in  both  the 
hymn,  and  the  prayer,  and  the  chapter,  to  keep  the  same 
subject  prominent.  Hardly  commendable  is  the  prac- 
tice, common  with  some  preachers,  of  rehearsing  the  ser- 
mon in  the  last  prayer.  It  may  be  instructive  to  the 
audience,  but  that  is  an  object  altogether  foreign  to 
prayer.  It  is  stilted,  scholastic,  and  unsuitable  ;  do  not 
imitate  the  practice. 

As  you  would  avoid  a  viper,  keep  from  all  attemjits  to 
luorh  up  spurious  fervor  in  public  devotion.  Do  not  labor 
to  seem  earnest.  Pray  as  your  heart  dictates,  under  the 
leading  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  if  you  ai-e  dull  and 
heavy  tell  the  Lord  so.  It  will  be  no  ill  thing  to  confess 
your  dcadness,  and  bewail  it,  and  cry  for  quickening; 
it  will  be  real  and  acceptable  prayer  ;  but  simulated 
ardor  is  a  shameful  form  of  lying.  Never  imitate  those 
who  are  earnest.  You  know  a  good  man  who  groans,  and 
another  whose  voice  grows  shrill  when  he  is  carried  awav 


PUBLIC   PRATER.  109 

with  zeal,  but  do  not  tlicrcfore  moan  or  squeak  in  order 
to  appear  as  zealous  as  they  are.  Just  be  natural  the 
whole  way  through,  and  ask  of  God  to  be  guided  in  it  all. 
Lastly — this  is  a  word  I  utter  in  confidence  to  your- 
sel  ves — prepare  your  prayer.  You  say  with  astonishmen  t, 
"  Whatever  can  you  mean  by  that  V  AYell,  I  mean  what 
some  do  not  mean.  The  question  was  once  discussed  in 
a  society  of  ministers,  "  Was  it  right  for  the  minister  to 
prepare  his  prayer  beforehand  ?"  It  was  earnestly 
asserted  l)y  some  that  it  was  wa'ong  ;  and  very  properly 
so.  It  was  with  equal  earnestness  maintained  by  others 
that  it  was  right ;  and  they  Avere  not  to  be  gainsayed.  I 
believe  both  parties  to  have  been  right.  The  first  bretli- 
ren  understood  by  preparing  the  i^rayer,  the  studying 
of  expressions,  and  the  putting  together  of  a  train  of 
thought,  which  they  all  said  was  altogether  opposed  to 
spiritual  worship,  in  which  we  ought  to  leave  ourselves 
in  the  hand  of  God's  Spirit  to  be  taught  of  him  both  as 
to  matter  and  words.  In  these  remarks  we  altogether 
agi'ce  ;  for  if  a  man  writes  his  prayers  and  studies  his 
petitions,  let  him  use  a  liturgy  at  once.  But  the  bretliren 
in  opposition  meant  by  preparation  quite  another  thing, 
not  the  preparation  of  tlie  head,  but  of  the  heart,  which 
consists  in  the  solemn  consideration  beforehand  of  the 
importance  of  prayer,  meditation  upon  the  needs  of 
men's  souls,  and  a  remembrance  of  the  promises  w^liich 
w^c  are  to  jilead  ;  and  thus  coming  before  the  Lord  with 
a  petition  Avritten  upon  the  fleshy  tables  of  the  heart. 
This  is  surely  better  than  coming  to  God  at  random, 
rushing  before  the  throne  at  haphazard,  Avithout  a  defi 
nite  errand  or  desire.  "  I  never  am  tired  of  praying," 
said  one  man,  "  because  I  always  have  a  definite  errand 
when  I  pray."  Brethren,  are  your  prayers  of  this  sort  ? 
Do  you  strive  to  be  in  a  fit  frame  to  lead  the  supplica 


110  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

tioiis  of  your  peoj)lc  ?  Do  you  order  your  cause  in  com- 
ing befofe  the  Lord  ?  I  feel,  my  brethren,  that  we 
ought  to  prepare  ourselves  by  private  prayer  for  public 
praying.  By  living  near  to  God  we  ought  to  maintain 
prayerfulness  of  spirit,  and  then  we  shall  not  fail  in  our 
vocal  pleadings.  If  anything  beyond  this  is  to  be  toler- 
ated, it  would  be  the  commitment  to  memory  of  the 
I'salms  and  parts  of  Scripture  containing  promises,  sup- 
plications, praises,  and  confessions,  such  as  maybe  help- 
ful in  the  act  of  prayer.  It  is  said  of  Chrysostom,  that 
he  had  learned  his  Bible  by  heart,  so  as  to  be  able  to  re- 
peat it  at  his  pleasure  :  no  wonder  that  he  was  called 
golden-mouthed.  Now,  in  our  converse  with  God,  no 
speech  can  be  more  appropriate  than  the  words  of  the 
Holy  Ghost — "  Do  as  thou  hast  said,"  will  always  prevail 
with  the  Most  High.  We  counsel,  therefore,  the  com- 
mitting to  memory  of  the  inspired  devotional  exercises 
of  the  word  of  truth,  and  then  your  continued  reading 
of  the  Scriptures  will  keep  you  always  furnished  with 
fresh  supplications,  which  will  be  as  ointment  poured 
forth,  filling  the  whole  house  of  God  with  its  fragrance, 
when  you  present  your  petitions  in  public  before  the 
Lord.  Seeds  of  prayer  thus  sown  in  the  memory  will 
yield  a  constant  golden  harvest,  as  the  Spirit  shall  warm 
your  soul  with  hallowed  fire  in  the  hour  of  congrega- 
tional prayer.  As  David  used  the  sword  of  Goliath  for 
after  victories,  so  may  Ave  at  times  employ  a  petition 
already  answered,  and  find  ourselves  able  to  say  with  the 
son  of  Jesse,  "  There  is  none  hke  unto  it,"  as  God  shall 
yet  again  fulfil  it  in  our  experience. 

Let  your  prayers  be  earnest,  full  of  fire,  vehemence, 
prevalence.  I  pray  the  Holy  Ghost  to  instruct  every 
student  of  this  College  so  to  offer  public  prayer,  that 
God  shall  always  be  served  of  his  best.     Let  your  peti- 


PUBLIC   PRAYER.  Ill 

fcions  be  plain  and  hcart-fclt ;  and  while  your  people  may 
sometimes  feel  that  the  sermon  was  below  the  mark,  may 
they  also  feel  that  the  prayer  comj^ensated  for  all. 

Much  more  miglit  be  said,  perhaps  should  be  said, 
but  time  and  strength  both  fail  us,  and  so  we  draw  to 
a  close. 


LECTURE  V^. 

SERMONS— THEIR  MATTER. 

SERMON'S  should  have  real  teaching  in  them,  and 
their  doctrine  should  be  solid,  substantial,  and  abundant. 
We  do  not  enter  the  pulpit  to  talk  for  talk's  sake  ;  we 
have  instructions  to  convey  important  to  the  last  degree, 
and  we  cannot  afford  to  utter  pretty  nothings.  Our 
range  of  subjects  is  all  but  boundless,  and  we  cannot, 
therefore,  be  excused  if  our  discourses  are  threadbare  and 
devoid  of  substance.  If  we  speak  as  ambassadors  for 
God,  we  need  never  complain  of  want  of  matter,  for  our 
message  is  full  to  overflowing.  The  entire  gospel  must 
be  presented  from  the  jmlpit  ;  the  whole  faith  once  deliv- 
ered to  the  saints  must  be  proclaimed  by  us.  The  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus  must  be  instructively  declared,  so  that 
the  people  may  not  merely  hear,  but  hnov),  the  joyful 
sound.  We  serve  not  at  the  altar  of  "  the  unknown 
God,"  but  we  speak  to  the  worshippers  of  him  of  whom 
it  is  written,  "  they  that  know  thy  name  will  put  their 
Jrust  in  thee."  To  divide  a  sermon  well  may  be  a  very 
useful  art,  but  how  if  tliere  is  nothing  to  divide  ?  A 
mere  divisjon  maker  is  like  an  excellent  carver  with  an 
empty  dif^li  before  Iiim.  To  be  able  to  deliver  an  exor- 
dium which  shall  be  approjiriate  and  attractive,  to  be  at 
ease  in  speaking  with  propriety  during  the  time  allotted 
for  the  discourse,  and  to  wind  up  with  a  respectable  j^e- 
roration,  may  appear  to  mere  religious  performers  to  bo 


SERMONS — THEIR   MATTER.  113 

all  that  is  reqiiisitc  ;  but  tlie  true  minister  of  Clirist  knows,; 
that  the  true  value  of  a  sermon  must  lie,  not  in  its  fasli-i 
ion  and  manner,  but  in  the  truth  which  it  contains.) 
Nothing  can  compensate  for  the  absence  of  teaching ;  all 
the  rhetoric  in  the  Avorld  is  but  as  chaff  to  the  wheat,  in 
contrast  to  the  gospel  of  our  salvation.  However  beau- 
tiful the  sower's  basket  it  is  a  miserable  mockery  if  it  be 
Avithout  seed.  The  grandest  discourse  ever  delivered  is 
an  ostentatious  failure  if  the  doctrine  of  the  grace  of 
God  be  absent  from  it ;  it  sweeps  over  men's  heads  like 
a  cloud,  but  it  distributes  no  rain  upon  the  thirsty  earth  ; 
and  therefore  the  remembrance  of  it  to  souls  taught 
wisdom  by  an  experience  of  j)ressing  need  is  one  of  disap- 
pointment, or  Vv^orse.  A  man's  style  may  be  as  fasci- 
nating as  that  of  the  authoress  of  whom  one  said,  "  that 
she  should  write  with  a  crystal  pen  dipped  in  dew  upon 
silver  paper,  and  use  for  pounce  the  dust  of  a  butterlly's 
wing"  ;  but  to  an  audience  whose  souls  are  in  instant 
jeopardy,  what  Avill  mere  elegance  be  but  "  altogether 
lighter  than  vanity  "  ? 

Horses  are  not  to  be  judged  by  their  bells  or  their  i  / 
trappings,  but  by  limb  and  bone  and  blood  ;  and  ser- 
mons, when  criticised  by  judicious  hearers,  are  largely 
measured  by  the  amount  of  gospel  truth  and  force  of 
gospel  ^)\v\i  which  they  contain.  Brethren,  weigh  your 
sermons.  Do  not  retail  them  by  the  yard,  but  deal  them 
out  by  the  pound.  Set  no  store  by  the  quantity  of 
words  which  you  utter,  but  strive  to  be  esteemed  for  the 
quality  of  your  matter.  It  is  foolish  to  be  lavish  in 
words  and  niggardly  in  truth.  He  must  be  very  desti- 
tute of  Avit  who  would  be  pleased  to  hear  himself  de- 
scribed after  the  manner  of  the  world's  great  poet,  who 
says,  "  Gratiano  speaks  an  infinite  deal  of  nothing,  more 
than  any  man  in  all  ^'enicc  :    his  reasons  are  as  two 


114  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDEK^TS. 

grains  of  wheat  hidden  in  two  bushels  of  chaff  ;  you 
shall  seek  all  day  ere  you  find  them  ;  and  when  you  have 
them  they  are  not  worth  the  search." 

Rousing  ajDpeals  to  the  affections  are  excellent,  but 
if  they  are  not  backed  up  by  instruction  they  are  a  mere 
flash  in  the  pan,  powder  consumed  and  no  shot  sent 
home,  f  Rest  assured  that  the  most  fervid  revivalism  will 
wear  itself  out  in  mere  smoke,  if  it  be  not  maintained  by 
tlie  fuel  of  teaching. yTJie  divine  method  is  to  put  the 
law  in  the  mind,  an4  then  write  it  on  the  heart;  the 
judgment  is  enlightened,  and  then  the  passions  subdued. 
Read  Hebrews  viii.  10,  and  follow  the  model  of  the  cov- 
enant of  grace.  Gouge's  note  on  that  place  may  with 
fitness  be  quoted  here  :  "  Ministers  are  herein  to  imitate 
God,  and,  to  their  best  endeavor,  to  instruct  people  in 
the  mysteries  of  godliness,  and  to  teach  them  what  to 
believe  and  practise,  and  then  to  stir  them  up  in  act  and 
deed,  to  do  what  they  are  instructed  to  do.  Their  labor 
otherwise  is  like  to  be  in  vain.  Neglect  of  this  course  is 
a  main  cause  that  men  fall  into  many  errors  as  they  do 
in  these  days."  I  may  add  that  this  last  remark  has 
gained  more  force  in  our  times  ;  it  is  among  uninstructed 
iiocks  that  the  Avolves  of  popery  make  havoc  ;  sound 
teaching  is  the  best  protection  from  the  heresies  which 
ravage  right  and  left  among  us. 

Sound  information  on  scriptural  subjects  your  hear- 
ers crave  for,  and  must  have.  Accurate  explanations 
of  Holy  Scripture  they  are  entitled  to,  and  if  you  are 
"an  interpreter,  one  of  a  thousand,"  a  real  messenger 
of  heaven,  you  will  yield  them  plenteously.  Whatev(!r 
else  may  be  present,  the  absence  of  edifying,  instructive 
truth,  like  the  absence  of  flour  from  bread,  will  be  fatal. 
Estiinated  by  their  solid  contents  rather  than  their 
superficial  area,  many  sermons  arc  very  poor  specimens 


BERMO]S"S — TUEIR   MATTER.  115 

of  godly  discourse.  I  believe  tlie  remark  is  too  well 
grounded  that  if  you  attend  to  a  lecturer  on  astronomy 
or  geology,,  during  a  short  course  you  will  obtain  a  tol- 
erably clear  view  of  his  system  ;  but  if  you  listen,  not 
only  for  twelve  months,  but  for  twelve  years,  to  the 
common  run  of  preachers,  you  will  not  arrive  at  any- 
thing like  an  idea  of  their  system  of  theology.  If  it  be 
so,  it  is  a  grievous  fault,  Avliich  cannot  be  too  much  de- 
plored. Alas  !  the  indistinct  utterances  of  many  con- 
cerning the  grandest  of  eternal  realities,  and  the  dim- 
ness of  thought  in  others  with  regard  to  fundamental 
truths,  have  given  too  much  occasion  for  the  criticism  ! 
Brethren,  if  you  are  not  theologians  you  are  in  your  pas-^ 
torates  just  nothing  at  all.  You  may  be  fine  rhetor-- 
icians,  and  be  rich  in  polished  sentences  ;  but  without 
knowledge  of  the  gospel,  and  aptness  to  teach  it,  you  are 
but  a  sounding  lu'uss  and  tinkling  cymbal.  Verbiage  is 
too  often  the  fig-leaf  which  does  duty  as  a  covering  for 
theological  ignorance.  Sounding  jDcriods  are  ofl'ered 
instead  of  sound  doctrine,  and  rhetorical  flourishes  in  the 
place  of  robust  thought.  Such  things  ought  not  to  be. 
The  abounding  of  empty  declamation,  and  the  absence 
of  food  for  the  soul,  will  turn  a  pulpit  into  a  box  of 
bombast,  and  inspire  contempt  instead  of  reverence. 
Unless  we  are  instructive  preachers,  and  really  feed  the 
people,  we  may  be  great  quoters  of  elegant  poetry,  and 
mighty  retailers  of  second-hand  windbags,  but  we  shall 
be  like  Nero  of  old,  fiddling  while  Rome  was  burning, 
and  sending  vessels  to  Alexandria  to  fetch  sand  for  the 
arena  while  the  populace  starved  for  want  of  corn. 

We  insist  upon  it,  that  there  must  be  abunclunce  of 
matter  in  sermons,  and  next,  that  iliis  matter  must  ie 
congruuus  to  the  text.  The  discourse  should  spring  out 
of  the  text  as  a  rule,  and  the  more  evidently  it  does  so 


116  LECTURES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

the  better  ;  but  at  all  times,  to  say  the  least,  it  should 
have  a  very  close  relationship  thereto.  In  the  matter 
of  spiritualizing  and  accommodation  very  large  latitude  is 
to  be  allowed  ;  but  liberty  must  not  degenerate  inio 
license,  and  there  must  always  be  a  connection,  and 
something  more  than  a  remote  connection — a  real 
relationship  between  the  sermon  and  its  text.  I 
heard  the  other  day  of  a  remarkable  text,  which  was 
appropriate  or  inappropriate,  as  you  may  think.  A 
squire  of  a  parish  had  given  away  a  number  of  flaming 
scarlet  cloaks  to  the  oldest  matrons  of  the  parish.  These 
resplendent  beings  were  required  to  attend  tlie  parish 
church  on  the  following  Sunday,  and  to  sit  in  front  of 
the  pulpit,  from  which  one  of  the  avowed  successors  of 
the  apostles  edified  the  saints  from  the  words,  "  Solomon 
in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these."  It  is 
reported  that  on  a  subsequent  occasion,  when  the  same 
benefactor  of  the  parish  had  given  a  bushel  of  potatoes 
to  every  man  who  had  a  family,  the  topic  on  the  follow- 
ing Sunday  was,  "And  they  said.  It  is  manna."  I  can- 
not tell  whether  the  matter  in  that  case  was  congruous 
to  the  selection  of  the  text ;  I  suppose  it  may  have  been, 
for  the  probabilities  are  that  the  whole  performance  was 
foolish  throughout.  Some  brethren  have  done  with 
their  text  as  soon  as  they  have  read  it.  Having  i)aid  all 
due  honor  to  that  particular  passage  by  announcing  it, 
they  feel  no  necessity  further  to  refer  to  it.  They 
touch  their  hats,  as  it  were,  to  that  part  of  Scrip- 
ture, and  pass  on  to  fresh  fields  and  pastures  new.  Why 
do  such  men  take  a  text  at  all  ?  Why  limit  their  own 
glorious  liberty  ?  Why  make  Scripture  a  horsing-block 
by  which  to  mount  upon  their  unbridled  Pegasus  ? 
Surely  the  words  of  inspiration  were  never  meant  to  be 


BEEilOXS — THEIR  MATTER.  117 

boot-hooks  to  help  a  Talkative  to  draw  on  liis  scvon- 
leagucd  boots  in  which  to  leap  from  pole  to  pole. 
/  The  surest  way  to  maintain  variety  is  to  keep  to  the 
nWd  6?  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  particular  passage  under 
consideration.^  No  two  texts  are  exactly  similar  ;  some- 
thing in  theM3onnection  or  drift  of  the  passage  gives  to 
each  apparently  identical  text  a  shade  of  difference. 
Keep  to  the  Spirit's  track  and  you  will  never  repeat 
yourself  or  be  short  of  matter  :  his  paths  drop  fatness. 
A  sermon,  moreover,  comes  with  far  greater  power  to 
the  conscience  of  the  hearers  when  it  is  plainly  the  very 
word  of  God — not  a  lecture  about  the  Scripture,  but 
Scripture  itself  opened  up  and  enforced.  It  is  due  to 
the  majesty  of  inspiration  that  when  you  profess  to  be 
preaching  from  a  verse  you  do  not  thrust  it  out  of  sight 
to  make  room  for  your  own  thinkings. 

Brethren,  if  you  are  in  the  habit  of  keeping  to  the 
precise  sense  of  the  Scripture  before  you,  I  Avill  further 
recommend  you  to  hold  to  the  ipsissima  verba,  the  very 
words  of  the  Holy  Gliost ;  for,  although  in  many  cases 
topical  sermons  are  not  only  allowable,  but  very  proper, 
those  sermons  which  expound  the  exact  words  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  are  the  most  useful  and  the  most  agreeable 
to  the  major  part  of  our  congregations.  They  love 
to  have  the  words  themselves  explained  and  expounded. 
The  many  are  not  always  sufficiently  capable  of  gras})ing 
the  sense  apart  from  the  language — of  gazing,  so  to 
speak,  upon  the  truth  disembodied  ;  but  when  they 
liear  the  precise  words  reiterated  again  and  again,  and 
each  expression  dwelt  upon  after  the  manner  of  such 
preachers  as  Mr.  Jay,  of  Bath,  they  are  more  edified, 
and  the  truth  fixes  itself  more  firmly  upon  their  memo- 
ries. Let  your  matter,  then,  be  copious,  and  let  it  grow 
out  of  the  inspired  word,  as  violets  and  primroses  spring 


118  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

up  naturaHy  from  the  sod,  or  as  tlic  virgin  lioiiey  drops 
from  the  comb. 

Take  care  that  your  deliverances  are  always  lueiglity, 
and  full  of  really  important  teaching.  Build  not  with 
wood,  hay,  and  stubble,  but  with  gold,  silver,  and 
precious  stones.  It  is  scarcely  needful  to  warn  you 
against  the  grosser  degradations  of  pulpit  eloquence,  or 
the  example  of  the  notorious  orator  Henley  might  be 
instanced.  That  loquacious  adventurer,  whom  Pope  has 
immortalized  in  his  "Dunciad,"  was  wont  to  make  the 
passing  events  of  the  week  the  themes  of  his  buffoonery 
on  week  days,  and  theological  subjects  suffered  the 
same  fate  on  Sundays.  His  forte  lay  in  his  low  Avit  and 
in  tuning  his  voice  and  balanciug  his  hands.  The  satir- 
ist says  of  him,  "  How  fluent  nonsense  trickles  from  his 
tongue."  Gentlemen,  it  were  better  never  to  have  been 
born,  than  to  have  the  like  truthfully  said  of  us  ;  we  are 
on  peril  of  our  souls  bound  to  deal  with  the  solemnities 
of  eternity  and  with  no  eartli-born  topics.  There  are, 
however,  other  and  more  inviting  methods  of  wood  and 
hay-building,  and  it  behooves  you  not  to  be  duped  by 
tliem.  iThis  remark  is  necessary,  especially  to  those 
gentlemen  who  mistake  high-flying  sentences  for  elo- 
quence, and  latinized  utterances  for  great  dci)th  of 
thought.  I  Certain  homiletical  instructors,  by  their  ex- 
ample, if  not  by  their  precepts,  encourage  rhodomontade 
and  great  swelling  words,  and,  therefore,  are  most  peril- 
ous to  young  preachers.  Think  of  a  discourse  commen- 
cing with  such  an  amazing  and  stupendous  assertion  as 
the  following,  which  by  its  native  grandeur  will  strike  you 
at  once  with  a  sense  of  the  sublime  and  beautiful :  "  Man 
IS  MORAL."  This  genius  might  have  added,  "A  catbas 
four  feet."  There  would  have  been  as  much  novelty  in 
t])e  one  information  as  tlie  other.     I  remember  a  sermon 


BERMOJfS — THEIR   MATTER.  110 

by  a  wonld-bo  profound  writer  which  quite  stunned  the 
reader  with  grenadier  words  of  six-feet  length,  Init 
which,  when  properly  boiled  down,  came  to  as  inneli 
essence  of  meat  as  this — Man  has  a  soul,  his  soul  will 
live  in  another  world,  and  therefore  he  should  take  care 
that  it  occupies  a  happy  place.  No  one  can  object  to 
the  teaching,  but  it  is  not  so  novel  as  to  need  a  blast 
of  trumpets  and  a  procession  of  bedizened  phrases  to  in- 
troduce it  to  public  attention.  The  art  of  saying  com- 
monplace things  elegantly,  pompously,  grandiloquently, 
bombastically,  is  not  lost  among  us,  although  its  utter 
extinction  were  "a  consummation  devoutly  to  be 
wished."  Sermons  of  this  sort  have  been  held  up  as 
models,  and  yet  they  are  mere  bits  of  bladder  which 
would  lie  on  your  finger-nail,  blown  out  until  they  remind 
you  of  those  colored  balloons  which  itinerant  dealers 
carry  about  the  streets  to  sell  at  a  halfpenny  a-piece  for 
the  delectation  of  the  extremely  juvenile  ;  the  parallel, 
I  am  sorry  to  say,  holding  good  a  little  further,  for  in 
some  cases  these  discourses  contain  just  a  tinge  of  poison 
by  way  of  coloring,  which  some  of  the  weaker  sort  have 
found  out  to  their  cost.  It  is  infamous  to  ascend  your 
pulpit  and  pour  over  your  people  rivers  of  language, 
cataracts  of  words,  in  Avhich  mere  platitudes  are  held  in 
solution  like  infinitesimal  grains  of  homoeopathic  medi- 
cine in  an  Atlantic  of  utterance.  Better  far  give  the 
people  masses  of  unprepared  truth  in  the  rough,  like 
pieces  of  meat  from  a  butcher's  block,  chopped  off  any- 
how, bone  and  all,  and  even  dropped  down  in  the  saAv- 
dust,  than  ostentatiously  hand  them  out  upon  a  china 
dish  a  delicious  slice  of  nothing  at  all,  decorated  with 
the  parsley  of  poetiy,  and  flavored  with  the  sauce  of 
affectation. 

It  will  be  a  happy  circumstance  if  you  are  so  guided 


/ 


120  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

by  the  Holy  Spirit  as  to  give  a  clear  testimony  to  all  the 
doctrines  loldcli  constitute  or  lie  around  the  gospel.  No 
trntli  is  to  be  kept  back.  The  doctrine  of  reserve,  so 
detestable  in  the  mouths  of  Jesuits,  is  not  one  wliit  the 
loss  villainous  when  accepted  by  Protestants.  It  is  not 
true  that  some  doctrines  are  only  for  the  initiated  ;  there 
is  nothing  in  the  Bible  which  is  ashamed  of  the  light. 
'The  sublimest  views  of  divine  sovereignty  have  a  prac- 
'tical  bearing,  and  are  not,  as  some  think,  mere  metaphys- 
!ical  subtleties  ;  the  distinctive  utterances  of  Calvinism 
;have  their  bearing  upon  every-day  life  and  ordinary  ex- 
^perience,  and  if  you  hold  such  views,  or  the  opposite, 
you  have  no  dispensation  permitting  you  to  conceal  your 
beliefs.  Cautious  reticence  is,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten, 
cowardly  betrayal.  The  best  policy  is  never  to  be  politic, 
but  to  proclaim  every  atom  of  the  truth  so  far  as  God 
has  taught  it  to  you.  Harmony  requires  that  the  voice 
of  one  doctrine  shall  not  drown  the  rest,  and  it  also 
demands  that  the  gentler  notes  shall  not  be  omitted  be- 
cause of  the  greater  volume  of  other  sounds.  Every 
note  appointed  by  the  great  minstrel  must  be  sounded  ; 
each  note  having  its  own  proportionate  power  and  em- 
phasis, the  passage  marked  with  forte  must  not  be  soft- 
ened, and  those  with  jjiaiio  must  not  be  rolled  out  like 
thunder,  but  each  must  have  its  due  hearing.  All  revealed 
truth  in  harmonious  proportion  must  be  your  theme. 

liretliren,  if  you  resolve  in  your  pul})it  utterances  to 
deal  with  important  verities,  you  must  not  for  ever  hover 
around  the  mere  angles  of  truth.  Those  doctrines  which 
are  not  vital  to  the  soul's  salvation,  nor  even  essential  to 
practical  Christianity,  arc  not  to  be  considered  upon 
every  occasion  of  worship.  Bring  in  all  the  features  of 
truth  in  due  proportion,  for  every  part  of  Scripture  is 
profitable,  and  you  are  not  only  to  preacli  the  truth,  but 


SERilONS — TUEIR  MATTER.  121 

tlic  wliole  trutJi.  Do  not  insist  perpetually  upon  one 
truth  alone.  A  nose  is  an  important  feature  in  the 
liuman  countenance,  put  to  paint  a  man's  nose  alone  is 
not  a  satisfactory  method  of  taking  his  likeness  :  a  doc- 
trine may  be  very  important,  but  an  exaggerated 
estimate  of  it  may  be  fatal  to  an  harmonious  and  com- 
])letc  ministry.  Do  not  make  minor  doctrines  main/ 
points.  Do  not  paint  the  details  of  the  background  of 
the  gospel  picture  witii  the  same  heavy  brush  as  the 
gi'eat  objects  in  the  foreground  of  it.  For  instance,  the 
great  jiroblems  of  sublapsarianism  and  supralapsarianism, 
the  trenchant  debates  concerning  eternal  filiation,  the 
earnest  dispute  concerning  the  double  procession,  and 
ihe  pre  or  joost  millenarian  schemes,  however  important 
liome  may  deem  them,  are  practically  of  very  little  con- 
oeru  to  that  godly  widow  Avoman,  with  seven  children  to 
support  by  her  needle,  who  wants  far  more  to  hear  of 
the  loving- kindness  of  the  God  of  providence  than  of 
i  hese  mysteries  profound  ;  if  you  jn-each  to  her  on  the 
faithfulness  of  God  to  his  people,  she  will  be  cheered 
and  helped  in  the  battle  of  life  ;  but  difficult  questions 
will  perplex  her  or  send  her  to  sleep.  She  is,  however, 
the  type  of  hundreds  of  those  who  most  require  your 
care,  pur  great  master  theme  is  the  good  news  from 
hcaven\  the  tidings  of  mercy  through  the  atoning  death 
of  Jesus,  mercy  to  the  chief  of  sinners  upon  their  believ- 
ing in  Jesus. 

We  must  throw  all  our  strength  of  judgment,  mem- 
ory, imagination,  and  eloquence  into  the  delivery  of  the 
gospel ;  and  not  give  to  the  preaching  of  the  cros^our 
random  thoughts  while  wayside  topics  engross  our  deeper 
meditations.  Depend  upon  it,  if  we  brought  the  intel- 
lect of  a  Locke  or  a  Newton,  and  the  eloquence  of  a 
Cicero,  to  bear  upon  the  simple  doctrine  of  "believe  and 
G 


122  LECTUEES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

\  live,"  "wc  should  find  no  surplus  strength.  Brethren, 
first  and  above  all  things,  keep  to  plain  evangelical 
doctrines ;  whatever  else  yon  do  or  do  not  preach,  be 
sure  incessantly  to  bring  forth  the  soul-saving  truth  of 
Christ  and  him  crucified.  I  know  a  minister  whose 
slioe-latchet  I  am  unworthy  to  unloose,  whose  preaching 
is  often  little  better  than  sacred  miniature  painting — I 
might  almost  say  holy  trifling.  He  is  great  upon  the  ten 
toes  of  the  beast,  the  four  faces  of  the  cherubim,  the 
mystical  meaning  of  badgers'  skins,  and  the  typical 
bearings  of  the  staves  of  the  ark  and  the  windows  of 
Solomon's  temple  :  but  the  sins  of  business  men,  the 
temptations  of  the  times,  and  the  needs  of  the  age,  he 
scarcely  ever  touches  upon.  Such  preaching  reminds 
me  of  a  lion  engaged  in  mouse-hounting,  or  a  man-of- 
war  cruising  after  a  lost  water-butt.  Topics  scarcely  in 
importance  equal  to  what  Peter  calls  "  old  wives'  fables," 
are  made  great  matters  of  by  those  microscopic  divines 
to  whom  the  nicety  of  a  point  is  more  attractive  than  the 
saving  of  souls.  You  will  have  read  in  Todd's  ''  Stu- 
dent's  Manual"  that  Harcatius,  king  of  Persia,  was  a 
notable  mole-catcher  ;  and  Briantcs,  king  of  Lydia,  was 
equally  cm  fait  at  filing  needles ;  but  these  trivialities 
by  no  means  prove  them  to  have  been  great  kings  :  it  is 
much  the  same  in  the  ministry,  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
meanness  of  mental  occupation  unbecoming  the  rank  of 
an  ambassador  of  heaven. 

Among  a  certain  order  of  minds  at  this  time  the 
Athenian  desire  of  telling  or  hearing  some  new  thing 
appears  to  be  predominant.  They  boast  of  new  liglit, 
and  claim  a  species  of  inspiration  which  warrants  thoni 
in  condemning  all  who  arc  out  of  their  brotherhood,  and 
yet  their  grand  revelation  relates  to  a  mere  circi.rastan- 
tial  of  worship,  or  to  an  obscure  interjiretation  of  proph- 


SERMONS — THEIR  MATTER.  123 

ccy  :  so  that,   at  sight  of  their  great  fuss  and  loud  cry 
concerning  so  little,  we  are  reminded  of 

"  Ocean  into  tempest  toss'd 
To  waft  a  feather  or  to  drown  a  fly." 

Worse  still  are  those  who  waste  time  in  insinuating 
doubts  concerning  the  authenticity  of  texts,  or  the  cor- 
rectness of  Biblical  statements  concerning  natural  phe-  \ 
nomena.  Painfully  do  I  call  to  mind  hearing,  one  Sabbath 
evening,  a  deliverance  called  a  sermon,  of  which  the  theme 
was  a  clever  inquiry  as  to  whether  an  angel  did  actually 
descend,  and  stir  the  pool  at  Bethcsda,  or  whether  it  was 
an  intermitting  spring,  concerning  which  Jewish  super- 
stition had  invented  a  legend.  Dying  men  and  women 
were  assembled  to  hear  the  way  of  salvation,  and  they 
were  put  off  with  such  vanity  as  this  !  They  came  for 
bread,  and  received  a  stone  ;  the  sheep  looked  up  to  the 
shepherd,  and  were  not  fed.  Seldom  do  I  hear  a  sermon, 
and  when  I  do  I  am  grievously  unfortunate,  for  one  of 
the  last  I  was  entertained  with  was  intended  to  be  a 
justification  of  Joshua  for  destroying  the  Canaanites,  and 
another  went  to  prove  that  it  was  not  good  for  man  to 
be  alone.  How  many  souls  were  converted  in  answer  to 
the  prayers  before  these  sermons  I  have  never  been  able 
to  ascertain,  but  I  shrewdly  suspect  that  no  unusual  re- 
joicing disturbed  the  serenity  of  the  golden  streets. 

Believing  my  next  remark  to  be  almost  universally 
unneeded,  I  bring  it  forward  with  diffidence — do  not  over- 
load a  sermon  with  too  much  matter.  All  truth  is  not  > 
to  be  comprised  in  one  discourse.  Sermons  are  not  to-  be 
bodies  of  divinity.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  having  too 
much  to  say,  and  saying  it  till  hearers  are  sent  home 
loathing  rather  than  longing.  An  old  minister  walking 
with  a  young  preacher,  pointed  to  a  cornfield,  and  ob- 


r 


124  LECTUKES  TO   MT   STUDEN"TS. 

served,  **  Yonrlast  sermon  had  too  much  in  it,  and  it  was 
not  clear  enough,  or  sufficiently  well-arranged;  it  was  like 
that  field  of  Avheat,  it  contained  much  crude  food,  but 
none  fit  for  nse.  You  should  make  your  sermons  like  a 
[loaf  of  bread,  fit  for  eating,  and  in  convenient  form."  It 
iis  to  be  feared  that  human  heads  (speaking  phrenological- 
y)  are  not  so  capacious  for  theology  as  they  once  were, 
or  our  forefathers  rejoiced  in  sixteen  ounces  of  divinity, 
undiluted  and  unadorned,  and  could  continue  receiv- 
ing it  for  three  or  four  hours  at  a  stretch,  but  our  more 
degenerate,  or  i^erhaps  more  busy,  generation  requires 
about  an  ounce  of  doctrine  at  a  time,  and  that  must 
be  the  concentrated  extract  or  essential  oil,  rather  than 
the  entire  substance  of  divinity.  We  must  in  these  times 
say  a  great  deal  in  a  few  words,  but  not  too  much,  nor 
with  too  much  amplification.  One  thought  fixed  on  the 
mind  will  be  better  than  fifty  thoughts  made  to  flit  across 
the  ear.  One  tcnpenny  nail  driven  home  and  clenched 
will  be  more  useful  than  a  score  of  tin-tacks  loosely  fixed, 
to  be  ^lulled  out  again  in  an  hour. 

Our  matter  sliould  he  well  arranged  according  to  the 
true  rules  of  men^^al  architecture.  Nor  practical  infer- 
ences at  the  basis  and  doctrines  as  the  topstoncs  ;  not 
metaphors  in  the  foundations,  and  propositions  at  the 
summit ;  not  the  more  important  truths  first  and  the 
minor  teaches  last,  after  the  manner  of  an  anticlimax ; 
but  the  thought  must  climb  and  ascend  ;  one  stair  of 
teaching  leading  to  another  ;  one  door  of  reasoning  con- 
ducting to  another,  and  the  whole  elevating  the  hearer 
to  a  chamber  from  whose  windows  truth  is  seen  gleamiiig 
in  tlie  light  of  God.  In  preaching,  have  a  i)lace  for 
everything,  and  everything  in  its  place.  Never  suffer 
truths  to  fall  from  you  pell-moll.  Do  not  let  your 
thoughts  rush  as  a  mob,  but  make   them  march   as  a 


SERMONS — THEIR  MATTER.  125 

troop  of  soldiery.     Order,  which  is  heaven's  first  hiw, 
must  not  bo  neglected  by  Jieaven's  ambassadors. 

Yoiw  doctrinal  icacliing  shuidd  be  clear  and  ^inrtis- 
iakable.  To  be  so  it  must  first  of  all  be  clear  to  yourself. 
Some  men  think  in  smoke  and  preach  in  a  cloud.  Your 
people  do  not  want  a  luminous  haze,  but  the  solid  terra 
firma  of  truth.  Philosophical  speculations  put  certain 
minds  into  a  semi-intoxicated  condition,  in  which  they 
either  see  everything  double,  or  see  nothing  at  all.  The 
head  of  a  certain  college  in  Oxford  was  years  ago  asked 
by  a  stranger  what  was  the  motto  of  the  arms  of  that 
university.  He  told  him  that  it  was  ^' Dominus  ilhimi- 
natio  mea."  But  he  also  candidly  informed  the  stranger 
that,  in  his  private  opinion,  a  motto  more  apjiropriate 
might  be,  "  Arisioteles  mece  tenehracB.^'  Sensational 
writers  have  half  crazed  many  honest  men  who  have  con- 
scientiously read  their  lucubrations  out  of  a  notion  that 
they  ought  to  be  abreast  of  the  age,  as  if  such  a  necessity 
might  not  also  require  us  to  attend  the  theatres  in  order 
to  be  able  to  judge  the  new  plays,  or  frequent  the  turf 
that  we  might  not  be  too  bigoted  in  our  opinions  upon 
racing  and  gambling.  For  my  part,  I  believe  that  the 
chief  readers  of  heterodox  books  are  ministers,  and  that 
if  they  would  not  notice  them  they  would  fall  still-born 
from  the  press.  Let  a  minister  keep  clear  of  mystifying 
himself,  and  then  he  is  on  the  road  to  becoming  intelli- 
gible to  his  jieople.  No  man  can  hope  to  be  felt  who 
cannot  make  himself  understood.  If  we  give  our  people 
refined  truth,  pure  Scriptural  doctrine,  and  all  so  worded 
as  to  have  no  needless  obscurity  about  it,  we  shall  be  true 
shepherds  of  the  sheep,  and  the  profiting  of  our  people 
will  soon  be  apparent. 

Endeacor  to  keep  the  matter  of  your  sermonizing  as  I 
fresh  as  you  can.     Do  not  I'ehearse  five  or  six  doctrines 


136  LECTUKES  TO  MY  STUDEKTS. 

with  unvarying  monotony  of  repetition.  Buy  a  theo- 
logical barrel-organ,  brethren,  with  five  tunes  accurately 
adjusted,  and  you  will  be  qualified  to  practise  as  an  iiltra- 
Calvinistic  preacher  at  Zoar  and  Jireh,  if  you  also  pur- 
chase at  some  vinegar  factory  a  good  supply  of  bitter, 
acrid  abuse  of  Arminians,  and  duty-faith  men.  Brains 
[ind  grace  are  optional,  but  the  organ  and  the  wormwood 
are  indispensable.  It  is  ours  to  perceive  and  rejoice  in 
a  Avider  range  of  truth.  All  that  these  good  men  hold 
of  grace  and  sovereignty  we  maintain  as  firmly  and 
boldly  as  they ;  but  we  dare  not  shut  our  eyes  to  other 
teachings  of  the  word,  and  we  feel  bound  to  make  full 
proof  of  our  ministry,  by  declaring  the  whole  counsel  of 
God.  With  abundant  themes  diligently  illustrated  by 
fresh  metaphors  and  experiences,  we  shall  not  weary, 
but,  under  God's  hand,  shall  win  our  hearers'  ears  and 
hearts. 

Let  your  teacliings  grow  and  advance;  let  them 
deepen  with  your  experience,  and  rise  with  your  soul- 
progress.  I  do  not  mean  preach  new  truths  ;  for,  on  the 
contrary,  I  hold  that  man  happy  who  is  so  well  taught 
from  the  first  that,  after  fifty  years  of  ministry,  he  has 
never  had  to  recant  a  doctrine  or  to  mourn  an  important 
omission  ;  but  I  mean,  let  our  depth  and  insight  con- 
tinually increase,  and  where  there  is  spiritual  advance  it 
will  be  so.  Timothy  could  not  preach  like  Paul.  Our 
earlier  productions  must  be  surpassed  by  those  of  our 
riper  years  :  we  must  never  make  these  our  models  ; 
they  will  be  best  burned,  or  only  preserved  to  l)e 
mourned  over  because  of  their  superficial  character.  It 
were  ill,  indeed,  if  we  knew  no  more  after  being  many 
years  in  Christ's  school ;  our  progress  may  be  slow,  but 
progress  there  must  be,  or  there  will  be  cause  to  suspect 
that  the  inner  life  is  lacking  or  sadly  unhealthy.  /  Set  it 


SERMONS — THEIR   MATTER.  127 

I. 

before  you  as  most  certain  that  you  have  not  yet  attained,     / 
and  may  grace  be  given  you  to  press  forward  towards   ' 
that  which  is  yet  beyond.     May  you  all  become  able 
ministers  of  the  New  Testament,  and  not  a  whit  behind 
the  very  chief  of  preachers,  though  in  yourselves  you 
will  still  be  nothing. 

The  word  *'  sermon  "  is  said  to  signify  a  thrust,  and, 
therefore,  in  sermonizing  it  must  be  our  aim  to  use  the 
suhjcct  in  hand  with  energy  and  effect,  and  the  subject 
must  he  capable  of  such  eDiploijmenf.  To  choose  mere 
moral  themes  will  be  to  use  a  wooden  dagger  ;  but  the 
great  truths  of  revelation  are  as  sharp  swords.  Keep  to 
doctrines  which  stir  the  conscience  and  the  heart.  Re- 
main unwaveringly  the  champions  of  a  soul-winning 
gospel.  God's  truth  is  adapted  to  man,  and  God's  grace 
adapts  man  to  it.  There  is  a  key  which,  under  God,  can 
wind  up  the  musical  box  of  man's  nature  ;  get  it,  and 
use  it  daily.  Hence  I  urge  you  to  keep  to  the  old-fash- 
ioned gospel,  and  to  that  only,  for  assuredly  it  is  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation. 

Of  all  I  would  wish  to  say  this  is  the  sum  ;  my 
brethren,  preach  Christ,  always  and  evermore.  He 
is  the  whole  gospel.  His  person,  offices,  and  work  must 
be  our  one  great,  all-comprehending  theme.  The  world 
needs  still  to  be  told  of  its  Saviour,  and  of  the  way  to 
reach  him.  Justification  by  faith  should  be  far  more 
than  it  is  the  daily  testimony  of  Protestant  pulpits  ;  and 
if  with  this  master-truth  there  should  be  more  generally 
associated  the  other  great  doctrines  of  grace,  the  better 
for  our  churches  and  our  age.  If  with  the  zeal  of 
Methodists  we  can  preach  the  doctrine  of  Puritans  a 
great  future  is  before  us.  The  fire  of  Wesley,  and  thei 
fuel  of  Whitfield,  will  cause  a  burning  which  shall  set 
the  forests  of  error  on  fire,  and  warm  the  very  soul  of  this 


128  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

cold  earth.  We  are  not  called  to  proclaim  phiJoFopby 
and  metaphysics,  but  the  simple  gospel.  Man's  fall,  his, 
need  of  a  new  birth,  forgiveness  through  an  atonement, 
and  sah'ation  as  the  result  of  faith,  these  are  our  battle- 
axe  and  weapons  of  Avar.  We  have  enough  to  do  to 
learn  and  teach  these  great  truths,  and  accursed  be  that 
learning  which  shall  divert  us  from  our  mission,  or  that 
Avilful  ignorance  which  shall  cripple  us  in  its  pursuit. 
More  and  more  am  I  jealous  lest  any  views  upon  proph- 
ecy, church  government,  politics,  or  even  systematic 
theology,  should  withdraw  one  of  us  from  glorying  in 
the  cross  of  Christ.  Salvation  is  a  theme  for  which  I 
would  fain  enlist  every  holy  tongue.  I  am  greedy  after 
Avitnessos  for  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God.  0 
that  Christ  crucified  were  the  universal  burden  of  men 
of  God.  Your  guess  at  the  number  of  the  beast,  your 
Napoleonic  speculations,  your  conjectures  concerning  a 
personal  Antichrist — forgive  me,  I  count  them  but  more 
bones  for  dogs  ;  while  men  are  dying,  and  hell  is  filling, 
it  seems  to  me  the  veriest  drivel  to  be  muttering  about 
an  Arm;igeddon  at  Sebastopol  or  Sadowa  or  Sedan,  and 
peeping  between  the  folded  leaves  of  destiny  to  discover 
the  fate  of  Germany.  Blessed  are  they  who  read  and 
hear  the  Avords  of  the  jjrophecy  of  the  Kevelation,  but 
the  like  blessing  has  evidently  not  fallen  on  those  who 
pretend  to  expound  it,  for  generation  after  generation  of 
them  have  been  i)roved  to  be  in  error  by  the  mere  lapse 
of  time,  and  the  present  race  Avill  folloAV  to  the  same 
inglorious  sepulchre.  I  Avould  sooner  pluck  one  single 
brand  from  the  burning  than  explain  all  mysteries.  To 
win  a  soul  from  going  doAvn  into  the  pit  is  a  more  glori- 
ous aehieA^ement  than  to  be  crowned  in  the  arena  of 
theological  controversy  as  Doctor  Sv.fficientissimus ;  to 
baA'e  faithfully  unveiled  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of 


SERMONS — THEIR  MATTER.  129 

Jgsus  Christ  will  be  in  the  finiil  judgment  accounted 
worthier  service  than  to  have  solved  the  problems  of 
tlic  religious  Sphinx,  or  to  have  cut  the  Gordian  knot  of 
apocalyptic  difficulty.  Blessed  is  that  ministry  of  which 
C;hrist  is  all. 

6* 


LECTURF  VI 

ON  THE  CHOICE  OF  A  TEXT. 

I  TRUST,  my  brethren,  tliat  we  all  feel  very  deeply 
tlie  importance  of  conducting  every  part  of  divine  wor- 
ship with  the  utmost  possible  efficiency.  When  we 
remember  that  the  salvation  of  a  soul  may  hang,  instru- 
mcntally,  upon  the  choice  of  a  hymn,  we  should  not 
consider  so  small  a  matter  as  the  selection  of  the  psalms 
and  hymns  to  be  a  trifle.  An  ungodly  stranger,  stepping 
into  one  of  our  services  at  Exeter  Hall,  was  brought  to 
the  cross  by  the  words  of  "Wesley's  verse — '*Jesu,  lover 
of  my  soul."  "  Does  Jesus  love  me  ?  "  said  he  :  "  then 
why  should  I  live  in  enmity  to  him  ?  "  When  we  reflect, 
too,  that  God  may  very  especially  bless  an  expression  in 
our  prayer  to  the  conversion  of  a  wanderer  ;  and  that 
prayer  in  the  unction  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  may  minister 
greatly  to  the  edification  of  God's  people,  and  bring 
unnumbered  blessings  down  upon  them,  we  shall  en- 
deavor to  pray  with  the  best  gift  and  the  highest  grace 
Avithin  our  reach.  Since,  also,  in  the  reading  of  the 
Scriptures  comfort  and  instruction  may  be  plenteously 
distributed,  we  shall  pause  over  our  opened  Bibles,  and 
devoutly  seek  to  be  guided  to  that  portion  of  Holy  Writ 
which  shall  be  most  likely  to  be  made  useful. 

With  regard  to  the  sermon,  we  shall  be  most  anxious, 
first  of  all,  respecting  the  selection  of  the  text.  No  one 
amongst  us  looks  upon  the  sermon  in  so  careless  a  light 


ox   THE    CHOICE   OF   A   TEXT.  131 

as  to  conceive  tliat  a  text  picked  up  at  random  will  bo 
suitable  for  every,  or  indeed,  for  any  occasion.  We  arc 
not  all  of  S3'dney  Smith's  mind,  when  he  rcccommended 
a  brotlicr  at  a  loss  for  a  text,  to  preach  from  "  Parthians, 
and  JMedes,  and  Elamites,  and  the  dwellers  in  Mesopo- 
tamia ;  "  as  though  anything  would  do  for  a  sermon.  I 
hope  we  all  make  it  a  matter  of  very  earnest  and  serious 
consideration,  every  week,  what  shall  be  the  subjects 
upon  which  we  sliall  address  our  jieople  on  the  Sabbath 
morning  and  evening  ;  for,  although  all  Scripture  is  good 
and  profitable,  yet  it  is  not  all  equally  appropriate  for 
every  occasion.*  To  everything  there  is  a  season  ;  and 
everything  is  the  better  for  being  seasonable.  A  wise 
householder  labors  to  give  to  each  one  of  the  family  his 
portion  of  meat  in  due  season  ;  he  does  not  serve  out 
rations  indiscriminately,  but  suits  the  viands  to  the  needs 
of  the  guests.  Only  a  mere  official,  the  slave  of  routine, 
the  lifeless  automaton  of  formalism,  will  be  content  to 
snatch  at  the  first  subject  which  comes  to  hand.  The 
man  Avho  i)lucks  topics  as  children  in  the  meadows  gather 
buttercups  and  daisies,  just  as  they  offer  themselves,  may 
act  in  accordance  Avith  his  position  in  a  church  into 
which  a  patron  may  have  thrust  him,  and  out  of  which 
the  people  cannot  eject  him ;  but  those  who  profess  to 

*  "  A  moment's  reflection  upon  the  eternal  consequences  that 
may  issue  from  the  preaching  of  a  single  sermon  in  the  name  of 
the  great  Author  and  Finisher  of  faith,  should  be  sufficient  to 
effectually  rebuke  the  haphazard  carelessness  and  the  reckless 
self-conceit  with  which  texts  are  sometimes  taken  and  treated, 
and  to  impress  every  true  minister  of  the  gospel  with  the  duty  of 
choosing  his  texts  in  such  a  frame  of  mind  as  may  harmonize  with 
the  divine  guidance  as  often  as  he  may  perform  that  important 
task." — Daniel  P.  Kidder.  "  A  Treatise  on  Homiletics,  designed 
to  Illustrate  the  True  Theory  and  Practice  of  Preaching  the 
Gospel." 


132  LECTUEES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

be  called  of  God,  and  selected  to  their  positions  by  tlio 
free  choice  of  believers,  will  need  to  make  fuller  proof  of 
their  ministry  than  can  be  found  in  such  carelessness. 
Among  many  gems  we  have  to  select  the  jewel  most 
approin-iate  for  the  setting  of  the  occasion.  AVe  dare 
not  rush  into  the  King's  banquet  hall  with  a  confusion 
of  jirovisions  as  though  the  entertainment  were  to  be  a 
vulgar  scramble,  but  as  well-mannered  servitors  we  panse 
and  ask  the  great  Master  of  the  feast,  "Lord,  what 
wouldst  thou  have  ns  set  upon  thy  table  this  day  ?  " 

Some  texts  have  struck  us  as  most  unhappily  chosen. 
We  wonder  what  Mr.  Disraeli's  rector  did  with  the  Avords, 
"  In  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God,"  when  lately  preaching  at 
a  village  harvest-home  !  Exceedingly  unfortunate  was 
tlie  funeral  text  for  a  murdered  clergyman  (Mr.  Plow), 
from,  "So  he  giveth  his  beloved  sleep."  Most  mani- 
festly idiotic  was  he  who  selected  "Judge  not,  that  ye 
be  not  judged,"  for  a  sermon  before  the  judges  at  an 
assize. 

Do  not  he  misled  hy  the  souoid  and  seeming  fitness  of 
scriptural  words.  M.  Athanase  Coquerel  confesses  to 
having  loreached,  on  a  third  visit  to  Amsterdam,  from 
the  words,  "  This  is  the  third  time  I  am  coming  to  you," 
2  Corinthians  xiii.  1 — well  may  he  add,  that  he  "found 
great  difficulty  in  afterwards  putting  into  this  discourse 
what  Avas  fitting  to  the  occasion."  A  parallel  case  was 
that  of  one  of  the  sermons  on  the  death  of  the  Princess 
Charlotte  from,  "  She  was  sick  and  died. "  It  is  still 
worse  to  select  words  out  of  a  miserable  facetiousness,  as 
in  Ihe  case  of  a  recent  sermon  on  the  death  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  from  the  sentence,  "Abraham  is  dead."  It  is 
said  that  a  student,  who  it  is  to  be  hoped  never  emerged 
from  the  shell,  preached  a  sermon  in  pubhc,  before  his 
tutor.  Dr.  Philip  Doddridge.     Now  the  good  man  was 


OK  THE   CHOICE   OF  A  TEXT.  IX\ 

accustomed  to  place  himself  immediately  in  h'ovi  of  tbo 
student,  and  look  him  full  in  the  face,  judge  therefore 
of  his  surprise,  if  not  indignation,  when  the  text  an- 
nounced ran  in  these  words,  ''Have  I  been  so  long  timo 
with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  me,  Philip?" 
Gentlemen,  fools  sometimes  become  students,  let  us  hope 
none  of  that  order  may  dishonor  our  Alvia  Mater.  I 
pardon  the  man  who  preached  before  that  drunken  Solo- 
mon, James  I.  of  England  and  VI.  of  Scotland,  from 
James  i.  6,  the  temptation  was  too  great  to  be  resisted  • 
but  let  the  wretch  be  for  ever  execrated,  if  such  a  man 
ever  lived,  Avho  celebrated  the  decease  of  a  deacon  by  a 
tirade  from,  "  It  came  to  pass  that  the  beggar  died."  I 
forgive  the  liar  who  attributed  such  an  outrage  to  me, 
but  I  hope  he  Avill  not  try  his  infamous  arts  upon  any 
one  else. 

As  we  would  avoid  a  careless  accidental  pitching  upon 
topics,  so  would  we  equally  avoid  a  monotonous  regular- 
ity. I  have  heard  of  a  divine  who  had  fifty-two  Sunday 
sermons,  and  a  few  extra  ones  for  holy  days,  from  which 
he  was  wont  to  preach  in  regular  order,  year  after  year. 
In  his  case,  there  would  be  no  need  that  the  people 
should  entreat  that  the  same  things  should  be  spoken  to 
tlicm  on  the  next  Sabbath-day,  nor  would  there  be  much 
wonder  if  imitators  of  Eutychus  should  be  found  in  other 
phices  beside  the  third  loft.  It  is  not  very  long  ago  since 
a  clergyman  said  to  a  farmer  friend  of  mine,  "Do  you 

know,  ]\Ir.  D ,  I  was  turning  over  my  sermons  the 

other  day,  and  really  the  parsonage  is  so  damp,  especially 
in  my  study,  that  my  sermons  have  become  quite  musty." 
My  friend,  who  although  he  was  churchwarden,  attended 
a  Dissenting  place  of  worship,  was  not  so  rude  as  to  say 
that  he  tliouglit  it  very  likely  ;  but  as  the  village  venera- 
bles  had  frequently  heard  the  aforesaid  discourses,  it  is 


334  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDEIffTS. 

possiljle  they  Avere  musty  in  more  senses  than  one.  There 
are  persons  in  the  ministry  who,  having  accumulated  a 
little  stock  of  sermons,  repeat  them  ad  nauseam,  with 
horrible  regularity.  Itinerating  brethren  must  be  far 
more  subject  to  this  temptation  than  those  who  are  sta- 
tioned for  several  years  in  one  place.  If  they  fall  victims 
to  the  habit,  it  must  surely  be  the  end  of  their  useful- 
ness, and  send  an  intolerable  death-chill  into  their  hearts, 
of  which  their  people  must  soon  be  conscious  while  they 
hear  them  parroting  forth  their  time-worn  productions. 
The  very  best  invention  for  promoting  sj)iritual  idleness 
must  be  the  plan  of  acquiring  a  two  or  three  years'  stock 
of  sermons,  and  relocating  them  in  order  again  and  again. 
As  we,  my  brethren,  hope  to  live  for  many  years,  if  not 
for  life,  in  one  place,  rooted  to  the  spot  by  the  mutual 
affection  which  will  grow  up  between  ourselves  and  our 
people,  we  have  need  of  a  far  different  method  from  that 
which  may  suit  a  sluggard  or  an  itinerant  evangelist. 

It  must  be  burdensome  to  some,  and  very  easy  to 
others,  I  should  imagine,  to  find  their  subject,  as  they 
do  whose  lot  is  cast  in  the  Episcopal  establishment,  where 
the  preacher  usually  refers  to  the  gospel  or  the  epistle,  or 
the  lesson  for  the  day,  and  feels  himself  bound — not  by 
any  law,  but  by  a  sort  of  precedent — to  preach  from  a 
verse  in  either  the  one  or  the  other.  When  Advent  and 
Epiphany,  and  Lent  and  Whitsuntide,  bring  their  stereo- 
typed round,  no  man  needs  to  agonize  at  heart  over  tlie 
question,  "What  shall  I  say  unto  this  people?"  The 
voice  of  the  church  is  clear  and  distinct,  "Master,  say 
on ;  there  is  your  work,  give  yourself  wholly  to  it." 
There  may  be  some  advantages  connected  Avitli  this  pre- 
arrangcment,  but  the  Episcopalian  public  do  not  aj^pear 
to  have  been  made  partakers  of  them,  for  their  public 
writers  are  always  groaning  over  the  dreariness  of  ser- 


ON"  THE  CHOICE   OF  A  TEXT.  135 

mens,  and  bemoaning  the  sad  condition  of  a  longsnffer- 
ing  laity  who  are  compelled  to  listen  to  them.  The  slav- 
ish habit  of  following  the  course  of  the  sun  and  the 
revolution  of  the  months,  instead  of  waiting  upon  th 
Holy  Spirit  is,  to  my  mind,  quite  enough  to  account  for 
the  fact  that  in  many  churches,  their  own  writers  being 
judges,  the  sermons  are  nothing  better  than  specimens 
of  "  that  decent  debility  which  alike  guards  their  authors 
from  ludicrous  errors,  and  precludes  them  from  striking 
beauties." 

Be  it  then  taken  for  granted,  that  we  all  feel  it  to  be 
most  important,  not  only  to  j^reach  the  truth,  but  to 
preach  the  right  truth  for  each  particular  occasion  ;  our 
effort  will  be  to  descant  ujion  such  subjects  as  shall  be 
best  adapted  to  our  people's  wants,  and  most  likely  to 
prove  a  channel  of  gi-ace  to  their  hearts. 

Is  there  any  difficulty  in  obtaining  texts  ?  I  remem- 
ber, in  my  earlier  days,  reading  somewhere  in  a  volume 
of  lectures  upon  Homiletics,  a  statement  which  consider- 
ably alarmed  me  at  the  time ;  it  was  something  to  this 
effect  :  "  If  any  man  shall  find  a  difficulty  in  selecting  a 
text,  he  had  better  at  once  go  back  to  the  grocer's  shop, 
or  to  the  plough,  for  he  evidently  has  not  the  capacity 
required  for  a  minister."  Now,  as  such  had  been  very 
frequently  my  cross  and  burden,  I  inquired  within  my- 
self whether  I  should  resort  to  some  form  of  secular  la- 
bor, and  leave  the  ministry  ;  but  I  have  not  done  so,  for 
I  still  have  the  conviction  that,  although  condemned  by 
the  sweeping  judgment  of  the  lecturer,  I  follow  a  call  to 
which  God  has  manifestly  set  his  seal.  I  was  so  much 
in  trouble  of  conscience  through  the  aforesaid  severe  re- 
mark, that  I  asked  my  grandfather,  who  had  been  in  the 
ministry  some  fifty  years,  whether  he  was  ever  perplexed 
in  choosing  his  theme.     He  told  me  frankly  that  this 


138  LECTURES  TO  MY  STUDEKTS. 

had  always  been  his  greatest  trouble,  compared  with 
which,  preaching  in  itself  was  no  anxiety  at  all.  I  re- 
member the  venerable  man's  remark,  *'  The  difhculty  is 
not  because  there  are  not  enough  texts,  but  because  there 
are  so  many,  that  I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt  them. "  Breth- 
ren, we  are  sometimes  like  the  lover  of  choice  flowers, 
who  finds  himself  surrounded  by  all  the  beauties  of  the 
garden,  with  permission  to  select  but  one.  How  long  he 
lingers  between  the  rose  and  the  lily,  and  how  great  the 
difficulty  to  prefer  one  among  ten  thousand  blooming 
lovelinesses  !  To  me  still,  I  must  confess,  my  text  selec- 
tion is  a  very  great  embarrassment — emharras  de  ri- 
chesses,  as  the  French  say — an  embarrassment  of  riches, 
very  different  from  the  bewilderment  of  poverty — the 
anxiety  of  attending  to  the  most  pressing  of  so  many 
truths,  all  clamoring  for  a  hearing,  so  many  duties  all 
needing  enforcing,  and  so  many  spiritual  needs  of  the 
people  all  demanding  supply.  I  confess  that  I  frequently 
sit  hour  after  hour  praying  and  waiting  for  a  subject,  and 
that  this  is  the  main  part  of  my  study  :  much  hard  labor 
have  I  spent  in  manipulating  topics,  ruminating  upon 
points  of  doctrine,  making  skeletons  out  of  verses  and 
then  burying  every  bone  of  them  in  the  catacombs  of 
oblivion,  sailing  on  and  on  over  leagues  of  broken  water, 
till  I  see  the  red  lights  and  make  sail  direct  to  the  desired 
haven.  I  believe  that  almost  any  Saturday  in  my  life  I 
make  enough  outlines  of  sermons,  if  I  felt  at  liberty  to 
preach  them,  to  last  me  for  a  month,  but  I  no  more  dare 
to  use  them  than  an  honest  mariner  would  run  to  shore  a 
cargo  of  contraband  goods.  Themes  flit  before  the  mind 
one  after  another,  like  images  passing  across  the  photo- 
grapher's lens,  but  until  the  mind  is  like  the  sensitive 
plate,  which  retains  the  picture,  the  subjects  are  value- 
less to  us. 


ON  THE  CHOICE   OF  A   TEXT.  137 

WJiat  is  fJie  right  teai?  IIoiv  do  you  know  it?  We 
know  it  by  tlic  signs  of  a  friend.  Wlien  a  verse  gives 
your  mind  a  hearty  grip,  from  which  you  cannot  release 
yourself,  you  will  need  no  further  direction  as  to  your 
pi'oper  theme.  Like  the  fish,  you  nibble  at  many  baits, 
but  when  the  hook  has  fairly  i)ierced  you,  you  will  wan- 
der no  more.  When  the  text  gets  a  hold  of  us,  we  may 
be  sure  that  we  have  a  hold  of  it,  and  may  safely  deliver 
our  souls  upon  it.  To  use  another  simile  :  you  get  a 
number  of  texts  in  your  hand,  and  try  to  break  them  up  ; 
you  hammer  at  them  with  might  and  main,  but  your 
labor  is  lost ;  at  last  you  find  one  which  crumbles  at  the 
first  blow,  and  sparkles  as  it  falls  in  pieces,  and  you  per- 
ceive jewels  of  the  rarest  radiance  flashing  from  within. 
It  grows  before  your  eye  like  the  fabled  seed  which  devel- 
oped into  a  tree  wliile  tlie  observer  watched  it.  It  charms 
and  fascinates  you,  or  it  weighs  you  to  your  knees  and 
loads  you  with  the  burden  of  the  Lord.  Know  then  that 
this  is  the  message  which  the  Lord  would  have  you  deli- 
ver; and,  feeling  this,  you  will  become  so  bound  by  that 
scripture  that  you  Avill  never  feel  at  rest  until  you  have 
yielded  your  whole  mind  to  its  power,  and  have  spoken 
upon  it  as  the  Lord  shall  give  you  utterance.  Wait  for 
that  elect  word,  even  if  you  wait  till  witliin  an  hour  of 
the  service.  This  may  not  be  understood  by  cool,  calcu- 
lating men,  who  are  not  moved  by  impulses  as  we  are, 
but  to  some  of  us  these  things  are  a  law  in  our  hearts 
against  which  we  dare  not  offend.  We  tarry  at  Jerusa- 
lem till  power  is  given. 

"  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  This  is  one  of  the 
articles  of  the  creed,  but  it  is  scarcely  believed  among 
professors  so  as  to  be  acted  on .  Many  ministers  ap- 
pear to  think  that  tJiej/  are  to  choose  the  text ;  ihey 
are  to  discover  its  teaching  ;  ihei/  arc  to  find  a  discourse 


138  LECTURES   TO   MY   STCJDES'TS. 

in  it.  "We  do  not  think  so.  We  are  to  use  onr  own 
volitions,  of  course,  as  Avell  as  our  understandings  and 
affections,  for  we  do  not  pretend  that  tlie  Holy  Ghost 
will  compel  us  to  preach  from  a  text  against  our  wills. 
He  does  not  deal  with  us  as  though  we  were  musical 
boxes,  to  be  wound  up  and  set  to  a  certain  tune  ;  but 
that  glorious  inspirer  of  all  truth  deals  with  us  as  with 
rational  intelligences,  who  are  swayed  by  spiritual  forces 
congruous  to  our  natures  :  still,  devout  minds  evermore 
desire  that  the  choice  of  the  text  should  rest  with  the  all- 
wise  Spirit  of  God,  and  not  with  their  own  fallible 
understandings,  and  therefore  they  humbly  put  them- 
selves into  his  hand,  asking  him  to  condescend  to  direct 
them  to  tlie  portion  of  meat  in  due  season  which  he  has 
ordained  for  his  people.  Gurnal  says,  ''  Ministers  have 
no  ability  of  their  own  for  their  work.  Oh !  how  long 
may  they  sit  tumbling  their  books  over,  and  puzzling 
their  brains,  until  God  comes  to  their  help,  and  then — 
as  Jacob's  venison — it  is  brought  to  their  hand.  If  God 
drop  not  down  his  assistance,  we  write  with  a  pen  that 
hath  no  ink  :  if  any  one  need  walk  dependently  upon 
God  more  than  another,  the  minister  is  he." 

If  any  one  inquire  of  me,  "How  sliall  I  obtain  tlte 
most  projje?'  text?"  I  should  answer,  "  Cry  to  God  for 
it."  Harrington  Evans,  in  his  "  Eules  for  Sermons,"' 
lays  down  as  the  first,  "  Seek  God  in  prayer  for  choice 
of  a  passage.  Inquire  why  such  a  passage  is  decided 
upon.  Let  the  q^iestion  be  fairly  answered.  Sometimes 
the  answer  may  be  such  as  ought  to  decide  the  mind 
against  the  choice."  If  prayer  alone  should  not  guide 
you  to  the  desired  treasure,  it  will  in  any  case  be  a  prof- 
itable exercise  to  you  to  have  prayed.  The  difficulty  of 
settling  upon  a  topic,  if  it  makes  you  pray  more  than 
usual,  will  be  a  very  great  blessing  to  you.     Prayinir  is 


ox   THE   CHOICE   OF   A   TEXT.  139 

the  best  studying.  Lnther  said  so  of  old — "  Bene  orasse 
est  bene  t>h((luissc,"  and  tlic  -well-worn  proverb  ayIII 
bear  repeating.  Pray  over  the  Scripture  ;  it  is  as  the 
treading  of  grapes  in  the  wine-vat,  the  threshing  of  corn 
on  the  barn  floor,  the  melting  of  gold  from  the  ore. 
Prayer  is  twice  blest ;  it  blesseth  the  pleading  preacher, 
and  the  people  to  whom  he  ministers.  When  your  text 
cmies  in  answer  to  prayer,  it  will  be  all  the  dearer  to 
you  ;  it  will  come  with  a  divine  savor  and  unction  alto- 
gether unknown  to  the  formal  orator  to  whom  one  theme 
is  as  another. 

After  prayer,  ice  are  hound  with  much  earnestness  to 
use  fitting  means  for  concentratimj  our  thoughts,  and 
directing  them  in  the  Jbest  channel.  Consider  the  con- 
dition of  your  hearers.  Eeflect  upon  their  spiritual  state 
as  a  whole  and  as  individuals,  and  jirescribe  the  medicine 
adapted  to  the  current  disease,  or  prepare  the  food  suit- 
able for  the  prevailing  necessity.  Let  me  caution  you, 
however,  against  considering  the  whims  of  your  hearers, 
or  the  peculiarities  of  the  wealthy  and  influential.  Do 
not  give  too  much  weight  to  the  gentleman  and  lady 
who  sit  in  the  green  pew,  if  you  are  so  unfortunate  as 
to  possess  such  an  abominable  place  of  distinction  in  a 
house  Avherc  all  are  on  a  level.  Let  the  large  contributoi* 
be  considered  by  all  means  as  much  as  others,  and  let  not 
his  spiritual  infirmities  be  neglected  ;  but  he  is  not  every- 
body, and  you  will  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  if  you  think 
him  to  be  so.  Look  at  the  poor  in  the  aisles  with  equal 
interest,  and  select  topics  which  are  within  their  range 
of  thought,  and  which  may  cheer  them  in  their  many 
sorrows.  Do  not  suffer  your  heads  to  be  turned  by 
respect  to  those  one-sided  members  of  the  congregation, 
who  have  a  sweet  tooth  for  one  portion  of  the  gospel, 
and  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  other  parts  of  truth  j  never  go 


140  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDEKTS. 

out  of  your  way  either  to  give  them  a  feast  or  a  scolding. 
It  may  be  satisfactory  to  think  that  they  are  pleased,  if 
they  are  good  people,  and  one  respects  their  predilections, 
but  faithfulness  demands  that  we  should  not  become 
mere  pipers  to  our  hearers,  playing  such  tunes  as  thoy 
may  demand  of  us,  but  should  remain  as  the  Lord's 
mouth  to  declare  all  his  counsels.  I  return  to  the 
remark,  think  over  Avhat  your  people  really  want  for 
their  edification,  and  let  that  be  your  theme.  That 
famous  apostle  of  the  north  of  Scotland,  Dr.  Macdonald, 
gives  an  instance  to  the  point  in  his  "  Diary  of  AVork  in 
St.  Kilda  : " — "  Friday,  May  27.  At  our  morning  exer- 
cise this  day,  I  read  and  gave  some  illustrations  of  Eu 
mans  xii,,  which  afforded  me  an  opportunity  of  stating 
the  connection  between  faith  and  practice,  and  that  the 
doctrines  of  grace  are  according  to  godliness,  and  lead 
to  holiness  in  heart  and  life.  This  I  deemed  necessary, 
as  from  the  high  ground  I  had  occupied  for  some  days 
past,  I  was  afraid  the  people  might  veer  towards  Anti- 
nomianism,  an  extreme  as  dangerous  as  Arminianism,  if 
not  more  so." 

Consider  loliat  sins  appear  to  he  most  rife  in  the 
cliiircli  and  congregation — worldliness,  covetousness, 
prayerlessness,  wrath,  pride,  want  of  brotherly  love, 
slander,  and  such  like  evils.  Take  into  account,  affec- 
tionately, the  trials  of  your  people,  and  seek  for  a  balm 
for  their  Avounds.  It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  minute 
details,  either  in  the  prayer  or  in  the  sermon,  as  to  all 
these  trials  of  your  congregation,  although  this  was  the 
custom  of  a  venerable  mniister  who  was  once  a  great 
bishop  in  this  neighborhood,  and  has  now  gone  to 
heaven.  He  was  wont,  in  his  abundant  love  to  his 
people,  to  give  such  hints  as  to  births,  deaths,  and  mar- 
riages, in  his  flock,  that  one  of  the  Sunday  afternoon's 


ON  THE   CHOICE   OF   A  TEXT.  141 

enjoyments  of  liis  constant  hearers  must  have  consisted  in 
finding  out  to  whom  the  minister  referred  in  various 
parts  of  his  prayer  and  sermon.  Tliis  was  tolerated,  and 
even  admired  from  him — from  us  it  would  be  ridiculous  : 
a  patriarch  may  do  with  propriety  wliat  a  young  man 
must  scru^^ulously  avoid.  The  venerable  divine  whom 
I  have  Just  mentioned  had  learned  this  particularizing 
from  the  example  of  his  father,  for  he  was  one  of  a 
family  in  which  the  children,  having  observed  that 
something  particular  had  occurred  during  the  day, 
would  say  to  each  other,  "  We  must  wait  till  family 
prayer,  when  we  shall  know  all  about  it."  But  I 
digress  ;  this  instance  shows  how  an  excellent  habit 
may  degenerate  into  a  fault,  but  tlie  rule  which  I  have 
laid  down  is  not  affected  by  it.  Certain  trials  will 
occur,  at  particular  junctures,  to  many  in  the  congrega- 
tion, and  as  these  afitlictions  will  invite  your  mind  into 
new  fields  of  thought,  you  will  do  ill  to  be  deaf  to  their 
call.  Again,  we  must  watch  tlie  spiritual  state  of  our 
people,  and  if  we  notice  that  they  are  falling  into  a 
backsliding  condition  ;  if  we  fear  that  they  are  likely 
to  be  inoculated  by  any  mischievous  heresy  or  perverse 
imagining ;  if  anything,  in  fact,  in  the  whole  physiolog- 
ical character  of  the  church  should  strike  our  mind,  we 
must  hasten  to  prepare  a  sermon  which,  by  God's  grace, 
may  stay  the  plague.  These  are  the  indications  among 
his  hearers  Avhich  the  Spirit  of  God  gives  to  the  careful, 
observant  pastor  as  to  his  line  of  action.  The  careful 
shepherd  often  examines  his  flock,  and  governs  his  mode 
of  treatment  by  the  state  in  which  he  finds  it.  He  Avill 
be  likely  to  supply  one  sort  of  food  but  sparingly,  and 
another  in  greater  abundance,  and  medicine  in  its  due 
quantity,  according  as  his  practised  judgment  finds  the 
one  or  the  other  necessary.     We  shall  be  rightly  directed 


142  LECTUEES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

if  we  do  but  associcate  ourselves  with  ''that  great  Shep- 
herd of  the  sheep." 

Do  not,  however,  let  us  allow  our  preaching  right 
home  to  our  people  to  degenerate  into  scolding  them. 
They  call  the  pulpit  "  Cowards'  Castle,"  and  it  is  a  very 
proper  name  for  it  in  some  respects,  especially  when 
fools  mount  the  platform  and  impudently  insult  their 
hearers  by  holding  up  their  faults  or  infirmities  to 
jDublic  derision.'  There  is  a  personality — an  offensive, 
wanton,  unjustifiable  personality — which  is  to  be  studi- 
ously avoided  ;  it  is  of  tlie  earth,  earthy,  and  is  to  be 
condemned  in  unmeasured  terms  ;  Avhile  there  is  another 
personality,  wise,  spiritual,  heavenly,  which  is  to  be 
aimed  at  unceasingly.  The  word  of  God  is  sharper 
than  any  two-edged  sword,  and  therefore  you  can  leave 
the  word  of  God  to  wound  and  kill,  and  need  not  be  your- 
selves cutting  in  phrase  and  manner.  God's  truth  is 
searching  :  leave  it  to  search  the  hearts  of  men  without 
offensive  additions  from  yourself.  lie  is  a  mere  bun- 
gler in  portrait  painting  Avho  needs  to  write  the  name 
under  the  picture  when  it  is  hung  up  in  the  family 
parlor  where  the  person  himself  is  sitting.  Compel 
your  hearers  to  perceive  that  you  speak  of  them,  tliough 
you  have  not  in  the  remotest  degree  named  them,  oi 
pointed  them  out.  Occasions  may  possibly  occur  Avhen 
you  may  be  bound  to  go  as  far  as  Hugh  Latimer,  when 
speaking  upon  bribery — he  said,  "  He  that  took  the 
silver  basin  and  ewer  for  a  bribe,  thinketh  that  it  will 
never  come  out.  But  he  may  know  tbat  I  know 
it,  and  I  know  it  not  alone  ;  there  be  more  beside  me 
that  know  it.  Oh,  briber  and  bribery  !  He  was 
never  a  good  man  that  will  so  take  bribes  ;  nor  cau  I 
believe  that  he  that  is  a  briber  will  be  a  good  Justice." 
Here  was  as  much  prudent  reticence  as^iold  disclosure  ; 


ON   THE   CHOICE   OF   A   TEXT.  U3 

and  if  you  go  no  furtlier  tlian  this,  no  man  dare,  for 
shame  sake,  accuse  you  of  too  great  personality. 

In  the  next  phice,  the  minister  in  looking  after  his 
text,  should  consider  what  Ids  previotis  topics  have  been. 
1 1  would  be  unwise  to  insist  perpetually  upon  one  doc- 
trine to  the  neglect  of  others.  Some  of  our  profoundcr 
brethren  may  be  able  to  deal  with  the  same  subject  in  a 
series  of  discourses,  and  may  be  able,  by  a  turn  of  the 
kaleidoscope,  to  present  new  forms  of  b'cauty  with  no 
change  of  subject,  but  the  most  of  us,  who  are  of  less 
fertile  abilities,  will  find  it  best  to  study  variety,  and  de- 
liver ourselves  upon  a  wide  range  of  truth.  I  think  it 
well  frequently  to  look  over  the  list  of  my  sermons,  and 
see  whether  any  doctrine  has  escaped  my  attention,  or 
any  Christian  grace  has  been  neglected  in  my  ministra- 
tions. It  is  well  to  inquire  whether  we  have  been  too 
doctrinal  lately,  or  too  barely  practical,  or  too  exclusively 
ex])erimental.  "We  do  not  desire  to  degenerate  into  Au- 
tinomians,  nor,  oq  the  other  hand,  to  descend  to  be  mere 
teachers  of  a  cold  morality,  but  our  ambition  is  to  make 
full  proof  of  our  ministry.  We  would  give  every  portion 
of  Scripture  its  fair  share  in  our  heart  and  head.  Doc- 
trine, precept,  history,  t}'pe,  psalm,  proverb,  experience, 
warning,  promise,  invitation,  threatening,  or  rebuke — - 
Ave  would  include  the  whole  of  inspired  truth  within  the 
circle  of  our  teachings.  Let  us  abhor  all  one-sidedncss, 
all  exaggeration  of  one  truth  and  disparagement  of  an- 
other, and  let  us  endeavor  to  paint  the  portrait  of  truth 
with  balanced  features  and  blended  colors,  lest  Ave  dis- 
honor her  by  presenting  distortion  instead  of  symmetry, 
and  a  caricature  for  a  faithful  copy. 

Supposing,  however,  that  you  haA'C  prayed  in  that 
little  room  of  yours,  haA'c  Avrestled  hard  and  supplicated 
long,  and  have  thought  over  your  people  and  their  Avaiits, 


1-44  LECTL'RES   TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

and  still  you  cannot  meet  witli  tlie  text — well,  do  not  fret 
about  it,  nor  give  way  to  despair.  If  you  were  about  to 
go  to  a  warfare  at  your  own  charges,  it  would  be  a  very 
miseraljle  thing  to  be  short  of  powder,  and  the  battle  so 
near  ;  but  as  your  Captain  has  to  provide,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  all  in  good  time  he  will  serve  out  the  ammu- 
nition. If  you  trust  in  God,  he  will  not,  he  cannot,  fail 
you.  Continue  pleading  and  watching,  for  to  the  indus- 
trious student  lieavenly  help  is  certain.  If  you  had  gone 
lip  and  down  idly  all  the  week,  and  given  no  heed  to 
])roper  ji reparation,  you  could  not  expect  divine  aid  ; 
but  if  you  have  done  your  best,  and  are  now  waiting  to 
knoAV  your  Lord's  message,  your  face  shall  never  be 
ashamed. 

Two  or  three  incidents  have  occurred  to  me  which 
may  seem  ratlicr  odd  to  you,  but  then  I  am  an  odd  man. 
When  I  lived  at  Carhbridge,  I  had,  as  usual,  to  preach  in 
the  evening  at  a  neighboring  village,  to  which  I  had  to 
Avalk.  After  reading  and  meditating  all  day,  I  could  not 
meet  with  the  right  text.  Do  what  I  would,  no  response 
came  from  tiie  sacred  oracle,  no  light  flashed  from  the 
Urim  and  Thummim  ;  I  prayed,  I  meditated,  I  turned 
from  one  verse  to  another,  but  the  mind  would  not  take 
hold,  or  I  was,  as  Bunyan  would  say,  "  much  tumbled 
up  and  down  in  my  thoughts."  Just  then  I  walked  to 
the  window  and  looked  out.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
narrow  street  in  which  I  lived,  I  saw  a  poor  solitary 
canary  bird  upon  the  slates,  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of 
sparrows,  who  were  all  pecking  at  it  as  if  tliey  would  tear 
it  to  pieces.  At  that  moment  the  verse  came  to  my  mind, 
*'My  heritage  is  unto  me  as  a  speckled  bird,  the  birds 
round  about  are  against  lier."  I  walked  off  with  the 
greatest  possible  composure,  considered  the  passage  dur- 
ing my  long  and  lonely  wtilk.  and  preached  upon  tlie 


ON   THE   CHOICE   OF   A   TEXT.  145 

peculiar  people,  and  tlie  persecutions  of  their  enemies, 
witli  freedom  and  ease  to  mj'self,  and  I  believe  witli  com- 
fort to  my  rustic  audience.  The  text  Avas  sent  to  me, 
and  if  the  ravens  did  not  bring  it,  certainly  the  sparrows 
did.  At  another  time,  while  laboring  at  AVaterbeach,  I 
had  preached  on  the  Sunday  morning,  and  gone  home  to 
dinner,  as  was  my  Avont,  with  one  of  the  congregation. 
Unfortunately,  there  were  three  services,  and  the  after- 
noon sermon  came  so  close  upon  the  back  of  the  morn- 
ing, that  it  was  difficult  to  prepare  tlic  soul,  esi)ecial]y  as 
the  dinner  is  a  necessary  but  serious  inconvenience  where 
a  clear  brain  is  required.  Alas  !  for  those  afternoon  ser- 
vices in  our  English  villages,  they  are  usually  a  doleful 
waste  of  effort.  Roast  beef  and  pudding  lie  heavy  on 
the  hearers'  souls,  and  the  in-eacher  himself  is  deadened 
in  his  mental  processes  while  digestion  claims  the  mas- 
tery of  the  hour.  By  a  careful  measuring  of  diet,  I  re- 
mained, on  that  occasion,  in  an  earnest,  lively  condition, 
but  to  my  dismay,  I  found  that  the  jn-e-arranged  line  of 
thought  was  gone  from  me.  I  could  not  find  the  trail  of 
my  prepared  sermon,  and  press  my  forehead  as  I  might, 
the  missing  topic  would  not  come.  Time  was  brief,  the 
hour  was  striking,  and  in  some  alarm  I  told  the  honest 
farmer  tliat  I  could  not  for  the  life  of  me  recollect  what 
I  had  intended  to  preach  about.  "  Oh  ! "  he  said,  "  never 
mind;  you  will  be  sure  to  have  a  good  word  for  us." 
Just  at  that  moment  a  blazing  block  of  wood  fell  out  of 
the  fire  upon  the  liearth  at  my  feet,  smoking  into  one's 
eyes  and  nose  at  a  great  rate.  *'  There,"  said  the  farm- 
er, "there's  a  text  for  you,  sir — 'Is  not  this  a  brand 
plucked  out  of  the  fire  ?'"  No,  I  thought,  it  was  not 
plucked  out,  for  it  fell  out  of  itself.  Here  was  a  text,  an 
illustration,  and  a  leading  thought  as  a  nest  egg  for  more. 
Furthej"  light  came,  and  the  sermon  was  certainly  not 
7 


146  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDEXTS. 

worse  than  my  more  prepared  effusions  ;  it  was  better  y\ 
tlie  best  sense,  for  one  or  two  came  forward  deelaririg 
themselves  to  have  been  aroused  and  converted  througli 
that  afternoon's  sermon.  I  have  always  considered  that 
it  was  a  happy  circumstance  tliat  I  had  forgotten  the 
text  from  which  I  had  intended  to  preach.  At  New 
Park  street,  I  once  passed  through  a  very  singular  expe- 
rience, of  which  witnesses  are  present  in  this  room.  I 
had  passed  hapjoily  through  all  the  early  parts  of  divine 
service  in  the  evening  of  the  Sabbath,  and  was  giving 
out  tlie  hymn  before  sermon.  I  opened  the  Bible  to  find 
the  text,  which  I  had  carefully  studied  as  the  topic  of 
discourse,  when  on  the  opposite  jDage  another  passage  of 
Scripture  sprang  upon  me  like  a  lion  from  a  tliicket,  with 
vastly  more  power  than  I  had  felt  when  considering  the 
text  which  I  had  chosen.  The  i^eople  were  singing  and 
I  Avas  sighing.  I  was  in  a  strait  betwixt  two,  and  my 
mind  hung  as  in  the  balances.  I  was  naturally  desirous 
to  run  in  the  track  which  I  had  carefully  planned,  but 
the  otlier  text  would  take  no  refusal,  and  seemed  to  tug 
at  my  skirts,  crying,  "  No,  no,  you  must  preach  from 
me.  God  would  have  you  follow  mc."  I  deliberated 
Avithin  myself  as  to  my  duty,  for  I  would  neither  be  fanat- 
ical nor  unbelieving,  and  at  last  I  thought  within  my- 
self, "  Well,  I  should  like  to  preach  the  sermon  which  I 
have  prepared,  and  it  is  a  great  risk  to  run  to  strike  out 
a  new  line  of  thought,  but  still  as  this  text  constrains  me, 
it  may  be  of  the  Lord,  and  therefore  I  will  venture  upon 
it,  come  what  may."  I  almost  always  announce  my 
divisions  very  soon  after  the  exordium,  but  on  this  occa- 
sion, contrary  to  my  usual  custom,  I  did  not  do  so,  for  a 
reason  which  soine  of  you  may  probably  guess.  I  joassed 
through  the  first  head  with  considerable  liberty,  speaking 
perfectly  extemporaneously  both  as  to  thought  and  word. 


OK  THE   CnOPE   OF   A  TEXT.  147 

The  second  point  was  dwelt  upon  with  a  consciousness  of 
umisnal  quiet  efficient  power,  but  I  had  no  idea  what  the 
third  woukl  or  could  be,  for  the  text  yielded  no  more 
matter  just  then,  nor  can  I  tell  even  now  Avhat  I  could 
have  done  had  not  an  event  occurred  upon  which  I  had 
never  calculated.  I  had  brought  myself  into  great  diffi- 
culty by  obeying  what  I  thought  to  be  a  divine  impulse, 
and  I  felt  comparatively  easy  about  it,  believing  that  God 
would  help  me,  and  knowing  that  I  coiild  at  least  close 
the  service  should  there  be  nothing  more  to  be  said.  I 
had  no  need  to  deliberate,  for  in  one  moment  we  Avere  in 
total  darkness — the  gas  had  gone  out,  and  as  the  aisles 
were  choked  with  people,  and  the  place  everywhere 
crowded,  it  was  a  great  peril,  but  a  great  blessing. 
What  was  I  to  do  then  ?  The  people  were  a  little 
frightened,  but  I  quieted  tliem  instantly  by  telling  them 
not  to  be  at  all  alarmed,  though  the  gas  was  out,  for  it 
would  soon  be  re-lighted  ;  and  as  for  myself,  having  no 
manuscript,  I  could  speak  just  as  well  in  tlie  dark  as  in 
the  light,  if  they  Avould  be  so  good  as  to  sit  and  listen. 
Had  my  discourse  been  ever  so  elaborate,  it  would  have 
been  absurd  to  have  continued  it,  and  so  as  my  plight 
was,  I  was  all  the  less  embarrassed.  I  turned  at  onco 
mentally  to  the  Avell-known  text  Avhich  speaks  of  the 
child  of  light  walking  in  darkness,  and  the  child  of  dark- 
ness walking  in  the  light,  and  found  appropriate  remarks 
and  illustrations  pouring  in  upon  me,  and  when  the  lamps 
were  again  lit,  I  saw  before  me  an  nudience  as  rapt  and 
subdued  as  ever  a  mto  beheld  in  his  life.  The  odd  thing 
of  all  was,  that  some  few  church-meeting  afterwards,  two 
jDersons  came  forward  to  make  confession  of  their  faith, 
who  professed  to  have  been  converted  that  evening ;  but 
the  first  owed  her  conversion  to  the  former  part  of  the 
discourse,  wli  ch  was  on  the  nc\Y  text  that  came  to  me, 


148  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

and  the  other  traced  his  awakening  to  the  latter  part, 
which  was  occasioned  by  the  sudden  darkness.  Thns, 
yon  see,  Providence  befriended  me.  I  cast  myself  upon 
())d,  and  his  arrangements  quenched  the  light  at  the 
l"»roper  time  for  me.  Some  may  ridicule,  but  I  adore  ; 
otliers  may  even  censure,  but  I  rejoice.  Anything  is 
better  than  mechanical  sermonizing,  in  which  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Spirit  is  practically  ignored.  Every  Holy 
Ghost  preacher,  I  have  no  doubt,  will  have  such  recollec- 
tions clustering  around  his  ministry.  I  say,  therefore, 
watch  the  course  of  Providence  ;  cast  yourself  upon  the 
Lord's  guidance  and  help.  If  you  have  solemnly  done 
your  best  to  get  a  text,  and  the  subject  does  not  start  up 
before  you,  go  np  into  the  pnlpit  firmly  convinced  that 
you  will  receive  a  message  when  the  time  comes,  even 
though  yon  have  not  a  word  at  that  moment. 

In  tlie  life  of  Samuel  Drew,  a  famous  Methodist 
preacher,  we  read,  "  Whilst  stopping  at  a  friend's  house, 
in  Cornwall,  after  preaching,  a  person  who  had  attended 
the  service,  observing  to  him,  that  he  had,  on  that  occa- 
sion, surpassed  his  usnal  ability ;  and  other  individuals 
concurring  in  the  opinion,  Mr.  Drew  said,  '  If  it  be  true, 
it  is  the  more  singular,  because  my  sermon  was  entirely 
unpremeditated.  I  went  into  the  pulpit  designing  to 
address  you  from  another  text,  but  looking  npon  the 
Bible,  whicli  lay  open,  that  passage  from  which  you 
heard  me  speak  just  now,  '  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  0 
Israel,"  arrested  my  attention  so  forcibly  as  to  put  to 
flight  my  former  ideas  ;  and  though  I  had  never  consid- 
ered the  passage  before,  I  resolved  instantly  to  make  it 
the  subject  of  my  discourse."  Mr.  Drew  did  well  to  be 
obedient  to  the  heavenly  direction. 

Under  certain  circumstances  you  will  be  absolutely 
compelled  to  cast  away  the  well-studied  discourse,  antl 


ON  THE   CHOICE  OF  A  TEXT.  149 

rely  upon  the  present  help  of  the  II0I3'  Spirit,  using 
purely  extempore  speech.  You  may  find  yourself  in  the 
position  of  the  late  Kingman  Knott,  when  preaching  in 
the  National  Theatre,  Ngav  York.  In  one  of  his  letters, 
he  says,  •'  The  building  Avas  filled  full,  and  mostly  with 
young  men  and  boys  of  the  roughest  type.  I  went  with 
a  sermon  in  my  mind,  but  as  soon  as  I  came  ujjon  the 
stage,  greeted  with  a  '  Hi  !  hi  ! '  and  saw  the  motley  and 
uproarious  crowd  I  had  to  do  with,  I  let  all  thoughts  of 
the  sermon  go,  and  catching  up  the  parable  of  the  Prod- 
igal Son,  tried  to  interest  them  in  that,  and  succeeded 
in  keeping  most  of  them  inside  the  house,  and  tolerably 
attentive."  AVliat  a  simpleton  would  he  have  been  had 
he  pei'severed  in  his  unsuitable  prelection  !  Brethren,  I 
beseech  you,  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  practically 
carry  out  your  faith. 

As  a  further  assistance  to  a  poor  stranded  preacher, 
who  cannot  launch  his  mind  for  want  of  a  Avave  or  two 
of  thought,  I  recommend  him  in  such  a  case,  to  turn 
again  and  again  to  the  Word  of  God  itself  ,  and  read  a 
chapter,  and  ponder  over  its  verses  one  by  one  ;  or  let 
him  select  a  single  verse,  and  get  his  mind  fully  exercised 
upon  it.  It  may  be  that  he  will  not  find  his  text  in  the 
verse  or  chapter  which  he  reads,  but  the  right  word  will 
come  to  him  tlirough  his  mind  being  actively  engaged 
upon  holy  subjects.  According  to  the  relation  of 
thoughts  to  each  other,  one  thought  will  suggest  another, 
and  another,  until  a  long  procession  will  have  passed 
before  the  mind,  out  of  which  one  or  other  will  be  the 
predestinated  theme. 

Read  also  good  siiggcstive  hooTcs,  and  get  your  mind 
aroused  by  them.  If  men  Avish  to  get  Avater  out  of  a 
pump  Avhich  has  not  been  lately  used,  they  first  pour 
water  doA^  n,  and  then  the  jtump  works.     Eeach  doAvn 


150  LECTURES  TO   KY  STUDENTS. 

one  of  the  Puritans,  and  thoroughly  study  the  work,  and 
speedily  you  will  lind  yourself  like  a  bird  on  the  wing, 
mentally  active  and  full  of  motion. 

By  way  of  precaution,  however,  let  me  remark,  that 
we  ought  to  he  always  in  training  for  text-getting  and 
sermon-making.  We  should  c( instantly  preserve  the 
holy  activity  of  our  minds.  Woe  unto  the  minister  Avho 
dares  to  waste  an  hour.  Eead  John  Foster's  "  Essay  on 
the  Improvement  of  Time,"  and  resolve  never  to  lose  a 
second  of  it.  A  man  who  goes  up  and  down  from  ]\Ion- 
day  morning  till  Saturday  night,  and  indolently  dreams 
that  he  is  to  have  his  text  sent  down  by  an  angelic 
messenger  in  the  last  hour  or  two  of  the  Aveek,  tempts 
God,  and  deserves  to  stand  speechless  on  the  Sabbath. 
AVe  have  no  leisure  as  ministers  ;  we  are  never  off  duty, 
but  are  on  our  watchtowers  day  and  night.  Students,  I 
tell  3^ou  solemnly,  nothing  will  excuse  you  from  the  most 
rigid  economy  of  time  ;  it  is  at  your  peril  that  you  trifle 
with  it.  The  leaf  of  your  ministry  will  soon  wither 
unless,  like  the  blessed  man  in  the  first  Psalm,  3'ou  med- 
itate in  the  laAV  of  the  Lord  both  day  and  night.  I  am 
most  anxious  that  you  should  not  throw  away  time  in 
religious  dissipation,  or  in  gossiping  and  frivolous  talk. 
Beware  of  running  about  from  this  meeting  to  that, 
listening  to  mere  twaddle,  and  contributing  your  share 
to  the  general  blowing  up  of  windbags.  A  man  great 
at  tea-drinkings,  evening  parties,  and  Sunday-school 
excursions,  is  generally  little  everywhere  else.  Your 
pulpit  preparations  are  your  first  business,  and  if  you 
neglect  these,  you  will  bring  no  credit  upon  yourself  or 
your  office.  Bees  are  making  honey  from  morning  till 
night,  and  we  should  be  always  gathering  stores  for  our 
2:)eople.  I  have  no  belief  in  that  ministry  which  ignores 
laborious  preparation.     When   travelling  in  Northerr. 


OK   THE    CHOICE    OF   A    TEXT.  151 

lt..l_v,  our  driver  at  night  slept  in  the  carriage,  and  Avlien 
I  euiiod  liim  up  in  the  morning,  he  leaped  out,  cracked 
his  whip  three  times,  and  said  he  was  quite  ready. 
Such  a  rapid  toilet  I  hardly  appreciated,  aud  wished  that 
he  had  slept  elsewhere,  or  that  I  had  to  occupy  another 
seat.  You  who  are  ready  to  preach  in  a  hop,  skip,  and 
jump,  will  pardon  me  if  I  take  a  pew  somewhere  else. 
Habitual  mental  C-xercise  in  the  direction  of  our  work  is 
advisable.  Mihisters  should  always  be  making  their  hay, 
but  especially  while  the  sun  shines.  Do  you  not  thid 
yourself  sometimes  wonderfully  ready  at  sermonizing  ? 
Mr.  Jay  said  that  when  he  felt  in  such  a  condition,  he 
Avould  take  out  his  paper  and  jot  down  texts  and  divis- 
ions of  sermons,  and  keep  them  in  store,  that  they 
might  serve  him  at  times  Avhen  his  mind  was  not  so  ready. 
The  lamented  Thomas  Spencer  v/rote,  *'I  keep  a  little 
book,  in  Avhich  I  enter  every  text  of  Scripture  which 
comes  into  my  mind  Avith  power  and  sweetness.  Were 
I  to  dream  of  a  passage  of  Scripture  I  should  enter  it, 
and  when  I  sit  doAvn  to  compose  I  look  over  the  book, 
and  have  never  found  myself  at  a  loss  for  a  subject." 
Watch  for  subjects  as  you  go  about  the  city  or  the 
country.*  Always  keep  your  eyes  and  ears  open,  and 
you  will  hear  and  see  angels.  The  world  is  full  of  ser- 
mons— catch  them  on  the  Aving.  A  sculptor  believes, 
whenever  he  sees  a  rough  block  of  marble,  that  there  is 
a  noble  statue  concealed  Avithin  it,  and  that  he  has  only 
to  chip  away  the  superfluities  and  reveal  it.  So  do  you 
belicA'e  that  there  is  vrithin  tiie  husk  of  everything  the 
kernel  of  a  sermon  for  the  Avise  man.     Be  wise,  and  see 

*  '•  I  was  led  into  a  profitable  strain  of  meditation,  on  our  good 
Shepherd's  care  of  Lis  flocic,  by  seeing  some  lambs  exposed  to 
the  cold,  and  a  poor  sheep  perishing  for  want  of  care." — Andrew 
Fuller's  Diary. 


152  LECTUllES   TO    MY    STUDE]SrTS. 

the  heavenly  in  its  earthly  pattern.  Hear  the  vpiciG 
from  the  skies,  and  translate  them  into  the  languac;G  of 
men.  Always  a  preacher  be  thou,  0  man  of  Clod,  for- 
aging for  the  pulpit,  in  all  provinces  of  nature  and  art, 
storing  and  preparing  at  all  hours  and  seasons. 

I  am  asked  Avhether  it  is  a  good  thing  to  announce 
arrangements,  and  publish  lists  of  projected  sermons.  I 
answer,  Every  man  in  his  own  order.  I  am  not  a  judge 
for  others  ;  but  I  dare  not  attempt  such  a  thing,  and 
should  signally  fail  if  I  were  to  venture  upon  it.  Pre- 
cedents are  much  against  my  opinion,  and  at  the  head 
of  them  the  sets  of  discourses  by  Matthew  Henry,  John 
Newton,  and  a  host  of  others,  still  I  can  only  speak  my 
own  personal  impressions,  and  leave  each  man  to  be  a  law 
unto  himself.  Many  eminent  divines  have  delivered  val- 
uable courses  of  sermons  upon  prearranged  topics,  but 
we  are  not  eminent,  and  must  counsel  others  like  our- 
selves to  be  cautious  how  they  act.  I  dare  not  announce 
what  I  shall  preach  from  to-morrovv^,  much  less  what  I 
shall  preach  from  in  six  weeks'  or  six  months'  time,  the 
reason  being  partly  this,  that  I  am  conscious  of  not  pos- 
sessing those  peculiar  gifts  which  are  necessary  to  interest 
an  assembly  in  one  subject  or  set  of  subjects,  for  any 
length  of  time.  Brethren  of  extraordinary  research  and 
profound  learning  can  do  it,  and  brethren  with  none  of 
these,  and  no  common  sense,  may  pretend  to  do  it,  but 
am  obliged  to  owe  a  great  deal  of  my  strength  to  variety 
I  cannot.  I  rather  than  profundity.  It  is  questionable 
whether  the  great  majority  of  list  preachers  had  not  far 
better  burn  their  programmes  if  they  would  succeed.  I 
have  a  very  lively,  or  rather  a  deadly,  recollection  of  a 
certain  series  of  discourses  on  the  Hebrews,  which  made  a 
deep  impression  on  my  mind  of  the  most  undesirable  kind. 
I  wished  frequently  tluit  the  Hebrews  had  kept  the  epistle 


ON  THE  CnOK  E   OF  A   TEXT.  153 

to  i.Lomscl\es,  for  it  sadly  bored  one  poor  Gentile  lad. 
I'y  tlic  time  the  seventh  or  eighth  discourse  had  been 
•J.vh'itjred  only  the  very  goodi)eoi)le  could  stand  it:  these, 
Oi  ooursc,  declared  that  they  never  heard  more  valuable 
expositions,  but  to  those  of  a  more  carnal  judgment  it 
rjrtpeared  that  each  sermon  increased  in  dulness.  Paul, 
in  that  epistle,  exhorts  us  to  suffe?-  the  word  of  exhorta- 
tion, and  we  did  so.  Arc  all  courses  of  sermons  like  this? 
Perhai^s  not,  and  yet  I  fear  the  exceptions  are  few,  foi 
it  is  even  said  of  that  wonderful  expositor,  Joseph  Caryl, 
that  he  commenced  his  famous  lectures  upon  Job  with 
eight  hundred  hearers,  and  closed  the  book  with  only 
eight!  A  prophetical  preacher  enlarged  so  much  upon 
"  the  little  horn  "  of  Daniel,  that  one  Sabbath  morning 
he  had  but  seven  hearers  remaining.  They  doubtless 
thought  it 

"  Strange  that  a  harp  of  thousand  strings, 
Should  play  one  tune  so  long." 

Ordinarily,  and  for  ordinary  men,  it  seems  to  me  that 
prearranged  discourses  are  a  mistake,  are  never  more 
than  an  appai-ent  benefit,  and  generally  a  real  mischief. 
Surely  to  go  through  a  long  epistle  must  require  a  great 
deal  of  genius  in  the  preacher,  and  demand  a  world  of 
patience  on  the  part  of  the  liearers.  I  am  moved  by  a 
yet  deeper  consideration  in  what  I  have  now  said  :  it 
strikes  me  that  many  a  truly  living,  earnest  preacher, 
would  feel  a  programme  to  be  a  fetter.  Should  the 
preacher  announce  for  next  Lord's  day  a  topic  full  of  joy, 
requiring  liveliness  and  exaltation  of  spirit,  it  is  very  pos- 
sible that  he  may,  from  various  causes,  find  himself  in  a 
sad  and  burdened  state  of  mind  ;  nevertheless,  he  must 
put  the  new  wine  into  his  old  bottle,  and  go  up  to  the  wed- 
ding feast  wearing  his  sackcloth  and  ashes,  and  worst  of 


154  LECTUEES  TO   MY  STUDEN"TS. 

all,  this  lie  may  be  bound  to  repeat  for  ti  "whole  mouth. 
Is  this  quite  as  it  should  be  ?  It  is  important  that  tho 
Sjieakcr  should  be  in  tune  Avith  his  theme,  but  how  ia 
this  to  be  secured  unless  the  election  of  the  topic  is  Icfi 
to  influences  which  shall  work  at  the  time?  A  man  i:j 
not  a  steam-engine,  to  run  on  metals,  and  it  is  unwiso 
to  fix  him  in  one  groove.  Very  much  of  the  preacher's 
power  will  lie  in  his  whole  soul  being  in  accord  with  the 
subject,  and  I  should  be  afraid  to  appoint  a  subject  for 
a  certain  date  lest,  when  the  time  come,  I  should  not  be 
in  the  key  for  it.  Besides,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how  a  man 
can  exhibit  dependence  upon  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit 
of  God,  when  he  has  already  prescribed  his  own  route. 
Perhaps  you  Avill  say,  "  That  is  a  singular  objection,  for 
why  not  rely  upon  him  for  twenty  weeks  as  well  as  for 
one?"  True,  but  we  have  never  had  a  promise  to  war- 
rant such  faith.  God  promises  to  give  us  grace  according 
to  our  days,  but  he  sa3'S  nothing  of  endowing  us  with  a 
reserve  fund  for  the  future. 

"  Day  by  day  tlie  manna  fell ; 
Oh,  to  learn  this  lesson  well !  " 

Even  so  well  our  sermons  come  to  us,  fresh  from  heaven, 
when  required.  I  am  jealous  of  anything  which  should 
hinder  our  daily  dependence  upon  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
therefore  I  register  the  opinion  already  given.  To  you, 
my  younger  brethren,  I  feel  safe  in  saying  with  authority, 
leave  ambitious  attempts  at  elaborate  series  of  discourses 
to  older  and  abler  men.  We  have  but  a  small  share  of 
mental  gold  and  silver,  let  us  invest  our  little  capital 
in  useful  goods  which  will  obtain  a  ready  market,  and 
leave  the  wcaUliier  merchants  to  deal  in  more  expensive 
and  cumbrous  articles.  We  know  not  what  a  day  may 
bring  forth — let    us   wait   for  daily    teaching,   and    do 


ON   THE   CUOICE   OF   A   TEXT.  155 

nothing  'wliicli  might  preclude  us  f]-om  using  tliose 
materials  wliich  providence  may  to-day  or  to-niorroTV 
cast  in  our  way. 

Perliai>s  you  will  ask  me  whether  you  sliould  preach 
from  texts  ichiclb  persons  select  for  you,  and  request  you 
to  2}reach  ujjon  !  My  answer  would  be,  as  a  rule,  tUver  ; 
and  if  there  must  he  exceptions  let  them  he  few.  Let 
me  remind  you  that  you  do  not  keep  a  slioj)  to  which 
customers  may  come  and  give  their  orders.  "When  a 
f:Ki"l  suggests  a  topic,  think  it  over,  and  consider 
whether  it  be  approjOTate,  and  see  whether  it  comes  to 
you  with  power.  Receive  the  request  courteously,  as 
you  are  in  duty  bound  to  do  as  a  gentleman  and  a  Chris- 
tian ;  but  if  the  Lord  whom  you  serve  does  not  cast  his 
light  upon  the  text,  do  not  preach  from  it,  let  who  may 
persuade  you. 

I  am  quite  certain  that  if  we  will  wait  upon  G  od  for 
our  subjects,  and  make  it  a  matter  of  prayer  that  we 
may  be  rightly  directed,  we  shall  be  led  forth  by  a  right 
way ;  but  if  we  are  puffed  up  with  the  idea  that  we  can 
very  easily  choose  for  ourselves,  we  shall  find  that  even 
in  the  selection  of  a  subject,  without  Christ  we  can  do 
nothing.  Wait  upon  the  Lord,  hear  what  he  would 
speak,  receive  the  word  direct  from  God's  mouth,  and 
then  go  forth  as  an  ambassador  fresh  from  the  court  of 
heaven.     "  Wait,  I  say,  on  the  Lord." 


LECTUHE  VII. 

ON  SPIKITUALIZING. 

Many  writers  upon  Homiletics  condemn  in  unmcuss' 
ured  terms  even  the  occasional  spiritualizing  of  a  text.* 
"  Select  texts,"  say  they,  "  give  a  plain,  literal  sense  ; 
never  travel  beyond  the  obvious  meaning  of  the  passage  ; 
never  allow  yourself  to  accommodate  or  adapt ;  it  is  an 
artifice  of  men  of  artificial  culture,  a  trick  of  mounte- 
banks, a  miserable  display  of  bad  taste  and  impudence." 
Honor  to  whom  honor  is  due,  but  I  humbly  beg  leave  to 
dissent  from  this  learned  opinion,  believing  it  to  be 
more  fastidious  than  correct,  more  plausible  than  true,  f 

*  "  Allegorical  preacliing  debases  tlie  taste,  and  fetters  tLe 
understanding  both  of  preacher  and  hearers." — Adam  Clarke. 

Wesley's  rule  is  better  :  "  Be  sparing  in  allegorizing  or  spirit- 
ualizing." 

•}■  What,  for  instance,  but  mere  fastidiousness  or  worse,  could 
make  M.  Athanase  Coquerel  write  such  criticisms  as  these : 
'•For  us  Christians  the  universal  and  supreme  priesthood  of  the 
Son  is  not  at  all  commended  by  likening  it  to  the  pontificate  of 
Melchisedek;  and  our  pilgrimage  towards  the  heavenly  country 
under  the  leadership  of  Jesus  very  little  resembles  that  of  Israel 
towards  the  promised  land  under  that  of  Joshua,  notwithstanding 
the  identity  of  the  names."!  !  !     .     .     .   ".     . 

"A  great  number  of  texts  lend  themselves  with  a  marvellous 
facility  to  this  interpretation,  which  is  not  one.  '  Lord,  save  us, 
we  perish  ! '  cried  the  apostles,  when  the  tempest  upon  the  lake 
of  Galilee  threatened  to  engulf  their  barque.  '  Wilt  thou  be 
made  wholt  ?'  said  Christ  to  the  paralytic  of  Bethesda.     We  feel 


0?r  SPIRITUALIZING.  157 

A  great  deal  of  real  good  may  be  done  by  occasionally 
taking  forgotten,  quaint,  remarkable,  out-of-the-way 
texts  ;  and  I  feel  persuaded  that  if  Ave  ajipeal  to  a  jury 
of  practical,  successful  preachers,  who  are  not  theorizcrs, 
but  men  actually  in  the  field,  we  shall  have  a  majority 
in  our  favor.  It  may  be  that  the  learned  rabbis  of  this 
generation  arc  too  sublime  and  celestial  to  condescend 
to  men  of  low  estate  ;  but  we  ^yho  have  no  high  culture, 
or  profound  learning,  or  enchanting  eloquence  to  boast 
of,  have  deemed  it  Avise  to  use  the  very  method  Avhicli 
the  grandees  have  proscribed  ;  for  we  find  it  one  of  the 
best  Avays  of  keeping  out  of  the  rut  of  dull  formality, 
and  yet  it  yields  us  a  sort  of  salt  Avith  Avliich  to  give  flavor 
to  unpalatable  truth.  Many  great  soul-Avinners  haA'e  felt 
it  meet  to  give  a  fillip  to  their  ministry,  and  to  arrest 
their  people's  attention  by  now  and  then  striking  out  a 
path  which  had  not  been  trodden  heretofore.  Experi- 
ence has  not  taught  them  that  they  Avere  in  error,  but 
the  reverse.  Within  limit,  my  brethren,  be  not  afraid  to 
spiritualize,  or  to  take  singular  texts.     Continue  to  look 

liow  easy  it  is  to  allegorize  tliese  words.  They  liave  been  so  a 
tliousand  times  ;  and  perhaps  no  preacher,  especially  in  a  day  of 
poverty  of  studied  texts,  of  matured  plans,  refuses  himself  per- 
mission to  employ  this  resource,  so  much  the  more  seducing  as 
it  is  extremely  easy.  I  composed  a  long  sermon  upon  the  invita- 
tion of  Moses  to  his  father-in-law,  Hobab,  or  Jethro.  Numb.  x.  29. 
'  We  are  journe3'ing  unto  the  place  of  which  the  Lord  said,  I  will 
give  it  you  ;  come  thou  with  us.'  The  division  was  already 
made,  by  commencing  with  an  historical  exordium.  This  place, 
it  is  heaven.  The  Lord  alone  gives  it  to  us  for  our  country. 
The  true  believer  says  to  each  of  his  brethren,  'Come  with 
us.'  ....  And  I  have  still  to  forgive  myself  for  having 
written  and  learned  by  heart  thirty  pages  in  quarto  upon  thia 
theme." 

If  M.  Coquerel  were  responsible  for  no  greater  fault  than  this, 
Le  would  be  a  far  better  divine  than  he  is  at  present. 


158  LECTURES   TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

out  passages  of  Scripture,  and  not  only  give  tlicir  plain 
meaning,  as  you  are  bound  to  do,  but  also  draw  froin. 
them  meanings  which  may  not  lie  upon  their  .surface. 
Take  the  advice  for  what  it  is  worth,  but  I  seriously  re- 
commend you  to  show  the  superfine  critics  that  every- 
body does  not  worship  the  golden  image  which  they 
liave  set  up.  I  counsel  you  to  employ  spiritualizing 
within  certain  limits  and  boundaries,  but  I  pray  you  do 
not,  under  cover  of  this  advice,  rush  headlong  into  in- 
cessant.-and  injudicious  "  imaginings,"  as  George  Fox 
would  call  them.  Do  not  drown  yourselves  because  you 
are  recommended  to  bathe,  or  hang  yourselves  on  an 
oak  because  tannin  is  described  as  a  valuable  astringent. 
An  allowable  thing  carried  to  excess  is  a  vice,  even  as 
fire  is  a  good  servant  in  the  grate,  but  a  bad  master 
when  raging  in  a  burning  house.  Too  much  even  of  a 
good  thing  surfeits  and  disgusts,  and  in  no  case  is  this 
fact  more  sure  than  in  the  one  before  us. 

The  first  canon  to  be  observed  is  this — do  not  vio- 
lently strain  a  text  hy  iUeyitimate  sjnritualizing..  This 
is  a  sin  against  common  sense.  How  dreadfully  the  word 
of  God  has  been  mauled  and  mangled  by  a  certain  band 
of  preachers  who  have  laid  texts  on  the  rack  to  make 
them  reveal  what  they  never  would  have  otherwise  spoken. 
Mr.  Slopdash,  of  whom  Rowland  Hill  tells  us  in  his 
Village  Dialogues,  is  but  a  type  of  a  numerous  genera- 
tion. That  worthy  is  described  as  delivering  himself  of 
a  discourse  upon,  "  I  had  three  white  baskets  on  my 
head,"  from  the  dream  of  Pharaoh's  baker.  Upon  this 
the  "  thrice-anointed  ninny-hammer,"  as  a  friend  of 
mine  would  call  him,  discoursed  upon  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  !  A  dear  minister  of  Christ,  a  venerable  and  ex- 
celleiit  brother,  one  of  the  most  instructive  ministers  in 
liis  county,  told  me  that  he  missed  one  day  a  laboring 


ON   SPIRITUALIZIXO.  159 

man  and  his  wife  from  his  chapel.  He  missed  them 
again  and  again,  Sunday  after  Sunday,  and  one  Monday, 
meeting  the  husband  in  the  street,  he  said  to  him, 
"Well,  John,  I  have  not  seen  you  lately."  "No,  sir," 
was  the  reply,  "  We  did  not  seem  to  profit  under  your 
ministry  as  we  used  to  do."  "  Indeed,  John,  I  am  very 
sorry  to  hear  it."  ''Well,  me  and  my  missis  likes  the 
doctrines  of  grace,  and  therefore  we've  gone  to  hear  Mr. 
Bawler  lately."  "Oh  !  you  mean  the  good  man  at  the 
High  Calvinist  Meeting?"  "Yes,  sir,  and  we  are  so 
happy  ;  we  get  right  good  food  there,  sixteen  ounces  to 
the  pound.  AVe  were  getting  half  starved  under  your 
ministry — though  I  always  shall  respect  you  as  a  man, 
sir."  "  All  right,  my  friend  ;  of  course  you  ought  to  go 
where  you  get  good  for  your  soul,  I  only  hope  it  is  good  ; 
but  what  did  you  get  last  Sunday  ?"  "  Oh  !  we  had  a 
most  refreshing  time,  sir.  In  the  morning  we  had — I 
don't  seem  to  like  to  tell  you — however,  we  had  really  a 
most  precious  time."  "Yes,  but  what  was  it,  John  ?" 
"Well,  sir,  Mr.  Bawler  led  us  blessedly  into  that  pas- 
sage, '  Art  thou  a  man  given  to  appetite  ?  Put  a  knife 
to  thy  throat  when  thou  sittest  before  a  ruler.'  "  "  What- 
ever did  he  make  out  of  that  ?  "  "  Well,  sir,  I  can  tell 
you  what  he  made  out  of  it,  but  I  should  like  to  know 
first  what  you  would  have  said  upon  it."  "I  don't 
know,  John  ;  I  don't  think  I  should  have  taken  it  at  all, 
but  if  I  must  have  spoken  about  it,  I  should  have  said 
that  a  person  given  to  eating  and  drinking  should  take 
care  what  he  was  about  Avhen  he  was  in  the  presence  of 
great  men,  or  he  would  ruin  himself.  Gluttony  even  in 
this  life  is  ruinous."  "Ah!  "said  the  man,  "  that  is 
your  dead-letter  way  of  rendering  it.  As  I  told  my  mis- 
sis the  other  day,  ever  since  we  have  been  to  hear  Mr. 
Bawler,  the  Bible  has  been  opened  up  to  us  so  that  wo 


160  LECTUKES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

can  see  a  great  deal  more  in  it  than  we  nsed  to  do." 
"  Yes,  but  what  did  Mr.  Bawler  tell  yon  about  his  text  ?  " 
**  Well,  he  said  a  man  given  to  apj^etite  Avas  a  young  con- 
Tert,  who  is  sure  to  have  a  tremendous  appetite  for 
preaching,  and  always  wants  food  ;  but  he  ain't  always 
nice  about  what  sort  of  food  it  is."  "  What  next,  John  ?  " 
"  He  said  that  if  the  young  convert  went  to  sit  before  a 
ruler — that  is  to  say,  a  legal  preacher,  or  a  duty-faith 
man,  it  would  be  the  worse  for  him."  "But  how  about 
the  knife,  John  ?"  "Well,  sir,  Mr.  Bawler  said  it  was 
a  very  dangerous  thing  to  hear  legal  preachers,  it  would 
be  sure  to  ruin  the  man  ;  and  he  might  just  as  well  cut 
his  throat  at  once,  sir  ! "  The  subject  was,  I  suppose, 
the  mischievous  effects  of  young  Christians  listening  to 
any  preachers  but  those  of  the  hyper  school ;  and  the 
moral  drawn  from  it  was,  that  sooner  than  this  brother 
should  go  to  hear  his  former  minister,  he  had  better  cut 
his  throat !  That  was  accommodating  considerably  ! 
Ye  critics,  we  give  over  such  dead  horses  as  these  to  your 
doggish  teeth.  Eend  and  devour  as  ye  will,  we  will  not 
upbraid.  We  have  heard  of  another  performer  who  de- 
livered his  mind  upon  Proverbs  xxi.  17.  "  He  that 
loveth  pleasure  shall  be  a  poor  man  :  he  that  lovetli  wine 
and  oil  shall  not  be  rich."  The  Proverbs  are  a  favorite 
field  for  spiritualizers  to  disport  themselves  v.ithal.  Our 
worthy  disposed  of  the  proverb  in  this  fashion:  "'Ho 
that  loveth  pleasure,'  that  is,  the  Christian  who  enjoys 
the  means  of  grace,  '  shall  be  a  poor  man,'  that  is,  he 
shall  be  poor  in  sj^irit ;  '  and  he  that  loveth  wine  and 
oil ; '  that  is  to  say,  rejoices  in  covenant  provisions,  and 
enjoys  the  oil  and  wine  of  the  gospel,  '  shall  not  be  rich,' 
that  is,  he  shall  not  be  rich  in  his  own  esteem  ;  "  show- 
ing the  excellence  of  those  who  are  poor  in  spirit,  and 
how  they  shall  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  the  gospel — a  very 


ON   SPIRITUALIZING.  IGl 

proper  sentiment,  but  my  carnal  eyes  fail  to  see  it  in  the 
text.  You  liave  all  heard  of  AYilliam  Huntingdon's  fa- 
mous rendering  of  the  passage  in  Isaiah  xi.  8  :  ''  I'hc 
sucking  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of  the  asp,  and  Die 
"wcaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  cockatrice'  den." 
"  '  The  sucking  child,'  that  is,  the  habe  in  grace,  '  shall 
])lay  on  the  hole  of  the  asp,'  '  the  asp,'  that  is,  the  Ar- 
minian  :  'the  hole  of  the  asp,' that  is,  the  Arminian's 
mouth."  Then  follows  an  account  of  the  games  in  Avhich 
simple  minds  are  more  than  a  match  for  Arminian  wis- 
dom. Professors  of  the  other  school  of  divinity  have 
usually  had  the  good  sense  not  to  return  the  compliment, 
or  the  Antinomians  might  have  found  themselves  ranked 
with  cockatrices,  and  their  opponents  boastfully  defying 
them  at  the  mouths  of  their  dens.  Such  abuse  only  in- 
jures those  who  use  it.  Theological  differences  are  bet- 
ter expounded  and  enforced  than  by  such  buffoonery. 

Ludicrous  results  sometimes  arise  from  sheer  stupid- 
ity inflated  with  conceit.  One  instance  may  suflHce.  A 
worthy  minister  told  me  the  other  day  that  he  had  been 
preaching  lately  to  his  people  upon  the  nine-and-twenty 
knives  of  Ezra.  I  am  sure  he  would  handle  these  edged 
tools  discreetly,  but  I  could  not  refrain  fi'om  saying  that 
I  hoped  he  had  not  imitated  the  very  sage  interpreter 
who  saw  in  that  odd  number  of  knives  a  reference  to  the 
four-and-twenty  elders  of  the  Apocalypse. 

A  passage  in  the  Proverbs  reads  as  follows  :  "  For 
three  things  the  earth  is  disquieted,  and  for  four  which 
it  cannot  bear  :  for  a  servant  when  he  reigneth  ;  and  a 
fool  when  he  is  filled  with  meat :  for  an  odious  woman 
when  she  is  married  ;  and  an  handmaid  that  is  heir  to 
lu^r  mistress."  A  raving  spiritualizer  declares  that  this 
is  a  sweet  picture  of  the  woi'k  of  grace  in  the  soul,  and 
shows  what  it  is  that  disquiets  Arminians,  and  sets  them 


162  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

by  the  cars.  "  '  A  servant  wlicii  he  veigneth,'  that  is, 
poor  servants  like  ourselves,  when  we  are  made  to  reign 
with  Christ ;  '  a  fool  when  he  is  filled  with  meat,'  *  that 
is,  poor  foolish  men  like  us,  when  we  arc  fed  with  the 
finest  of  the  wheat  of  gospel  truth  ;  *  an  odious  Avoman 
when  she  is  married,'  that  is,  a  sinner  when  he  is  united 
to  Christ ;  '  A  handmaid  that  is  heir  to  her  mistress,' 
that  is,  when  we  poor  handmaids  that  were  under  the 
law,  bond-slaves,  come  into  the  privileges  of  Sarah,  and 
become  heirs  to  our  own  mistress." 

These  are  a  few  specimens  of  ecclesiastical  curiosities 
which  are  as  numerous  and  valuable  as  the  relics  which 
are  every  day  gathered  so  plentifully  on  the  battle-field 
of  Waterloo,  and  accepted  by  the  more  verdant  as  price- 
less treasures.  But  we  have  surfeited  you,  and  have  no 
wish  to  waste  more  of  your  time.  From  all  such  rank 
absurdity  need  you  be  admonished  to  turn  away  !  Such 
maunderings  dishonor  the  Bible,  are  an  insult  to  the 
common-sense  of  the  hearers,  and  a  deplorable  lowering 
of  the  minister.  This,  however,  is  no  more  the  spirit- 
ualizing which  Ave  recommend  to  you  than  the  thistle  in 
Lebanon  is  the  cedar  of  Lebanon.  Avoid  that  childisli 
trifling  and  outrageous  twisting  of  texts  Avhich  will  make 
you  a  wise  man  among  fools,  but  a  fool  among  wise  men. 

Our  second  is,  never  spiriiualize  upon  indelicate  sub- 
jects. It  is  needful  to  say  this,  for  the  Slopdash  family 
are  never  more  at  home  than  Avhen  they  sjoeak  in  a  way 
to  crimson  the  cheek  of  modesty.  There  is  a  kind  of 
beetle  Avhicli  breeds  in  filth,  and  this  creature  has  its 
prototype  among  men.  Do  I  not  at  this  moment  call  to 
mind  a  savory  divine  Avho  enlarged  with  Avonderfiil 
gusto  and  sensuous  unction  upon  the  concubine  cut  into 

*  ]Miglit  not  this  be  accurately  applied  to  hearers  filled  with 
Buch  noDsense? 


ox   SPIRITUALIZING.  1G3 

ten  i)icccs  :  Grocnacre  liimsclf  could  not  have  done  it 
better.  What  aboiniiiable  tilings  have  been  said  npon 
some  of  the  sterner  and  more  horrifying  similes  of  Jere- 
miah and  Ezekiel  !  Where  the  Holy  Spirit  is  veiled  and 
chaste,  these  men  have  torn  away  the  veil,  and  spoken 
as  none  bnt  naughty  tongues  would  venture  to  do.  I  am 
not  squeamish,  indeed,  far  from  it,  but  explanations  of 
the  new  birth  by  analogies  suggested  by  a  monthly  nursu, 
expositions  of  the  rite  of  circumcision,  and  minute  de- 
scriptions of  married  life,  would  arouse  my  temper  and 
make  me  feel  inclined  to  command  with  Jehu  that  the 
shameless  one  should  be  thrown  down  from  the  exalted 
position  disgraced  by  such  brazen-faced  impudence.*  I 
know  it  is  said,  "lloni  soit  qui  mal  y  innse,"'  but  I  aver 
tliut  no  pure  mind  ought  to  be  subjected  to  the  slightest 
breath  of  indelicacy  from  the  pulpit.  Caesar's  wife  must 
be  Avithout  suspicion,  and  Christ's  ministers  must  be 
without  speck  in  their  lives  or  stain  in  their  speech. 
Gentlemen,  the  kissing  and  hugging  which  some  pi-each- 
ers  delight  in  is  disgusting  :  Solomon's  Song  had  better 
be  let  alone  than  dragged  in  the  mire  as  it  often  is. 
Young  men  especially  must  be  scrupulously,  jealously 
modest  and  pure  in  word  :  an  old  man  is  pardoned,  I 
scarce  know  why,  but  a  young  man  is  utterly  without 
excuse  should  he  overstep  the  strict  line  of  delicacy. 

Next,  and  thirdly,  never  spiritualize  for  the  sake  of 
sliowing  what  an  iincommonhj  clever  fellow  you  arc. 
Such  an  intention  will  be  wicked,  and  the  method  used 
will  be  foolish.  Only  an  egregious  simpleton  will  seek 
to  be  noted  for  doing  what  nine  men  out  of  ten  could  do 
quite  as  well.     A  certain  probationer  once  preached  a 

*  South  is  not  always  dt-cent,  and  had  he  been  a  Dissenter  he 
would  have  been  howled  down  for  vulgarity.  His  genius  is  in- 
dli-putable,  but  he  might  have  washed  Lis  mouth. 


164  LECTCTRES   TO    V.Y   STUDEK^TS. 

sermon  upon  the  Avord  "  but,"  tlins  hoping  to  ingraiaate 
himself  with  the  congregation,  who  would,  he  thonght, 
be  enraptured  with  the  powers  of  a  brother  who  could 
''enlarge  so  marA'ellously  upon  a  mere  conjunction.  His 
subject  appears  to  have  been,  the  fact  that  whatever  there 
may  be  of  good  in  a  man's  character,  or  admirable  in  a 
num's  position,  there  is  sure  to  be  some  difficulty,  some 
trial  in  connection  with  us  all  :  "  Naaman  was  a  great 
man  with  his  master,  but ."  When  the  orator  de- 
scended from  the  pulpit  the  deacons  said,  "  Well,  sir, 
you  have  given  us  a  singular  sermon,  but — you  are  not 
the  man  for  the  place ;  that  we  can  see  very  clearly." 
Alas  !  for  Avit  when  it  becomes  so  common,  and  Avithal 
puts  a  Aveapon  into  the  hand  of  its  OAvn  adversaries  ! 
Remember  that  spiritualizing  is  not  such  a  wonderful 
display  of  ingenuity,  even  if  you  are  able  to  do  it  Avell, 
and  that  Avithout  discretion  it  is  the  most  ready  method 
of  revealing  your  egregious  folly.  Gentlemen,  if  you  as- 
pire to  emulate  Origen  in  Avild,  daring  interpretations, 
it  may  be  as  Avell  to  read  his  life  and  note  attentively  the 
follies  into  which  even  his  marvellous  mind  Avas  draAvn 
by  alloAving  a  wild  fancy  to  usurp  absolute  authority  over 
his  judgment ;  and  if  you  set  yourselves  to  rival  the  vulgar 
declaimers  of  a  past  generation,  let  me  remind  you  that 
the  cap  and  bells  do  not  now  command  the  same  patron- 
age as  fell  to  their  share  a  few  years  ago. 

Our  third  caution  is,  never  pervert  Scripture  to  give 
it  a  novel  and  so-called  spiritual  meaning,  lest  you  be 
found  guilty  of  that  solemn  curse  Avith  Avhich  the  roll  of 
inspiration  is  guarded  and  closed,  Mr.  Cook,  of  Maiden- 
liead,  felt  himself  obliged  to  separate  from  William  Hun- 
tingdon because  of  his  making  the  seventh  command- 
ment to  mean  the  Lord  speaking  to  his  Son  and  sa^nng, 
*'  Thou  slialt  not  covet  the  devil's  wife,  i.  e.,  the  non- 


ON   SPIRITUALIZING.  1C5 

elect."  One  can  only  say,  horrible  !  Perhaps  it  would 
be  an  insult  to  your  reason  and  your  religion  to  say,  loatlie 
the  thought  of  such  profanity.  You  instinctively  shrink 
from  it. 

Once  more,  in  no  case  allow  your  audience  to  forget 
ilmt  the  narratives  ivliich  yon  spiritualize  are  facts,  and 
not  mere  myths  or  parables.  The  first  sense  of  the  pas- 
sage must  never  be  drowned  in  the  overflow  of  your  ima- 
gination ;  it  must  be  distinctly  declared  and  allowed  to 
hold  the  first  rank  ;  your  accommodation  of  it  must  never 
thrust  out  the  original  and  native  meaning,  or  even  push 
it  into  the  background.  The  Bible  is  not  a  compilation 
of  clever  allegories  or  instructive  poetical  traditions  ;  it 
teaches  literal  facts  and  reveals  ti'cmendous  realities  :  let 
your  full  persuasion  of  this  truth  be  manifest  to  all  who 
attend  your  ministry.  It  will  be  an  il]  day  for  the  church 
if  the  pulpit  should  even  appear  to  indorse  the  sceptical 
liypothesis  that  Holy  Scripture  is  but  the  record  of  a  re- 
fined mythology,  in  Avhicli  globules  of  truth  are  dissolved 
in  seas  of  poetic  and  imaginary  detail. 

However,  there  is  a  legitimate  range  for  spiritualiz- 
ing, or  rather  for  the  particular  gift  Avhich  leads  men  to 
spiritualize.*  Eor  instance,  you  have  frequently  been 
shown  that  tlie  types  yield  ample  scope  for  the  exercise 
of  a  sanctified  ingenuity.  Wliy  need  you  go  about  to 
find  "odious  Avomen"  to  preach  upon,  when  you  have 
before  you  the  tabernacle  in  the  wilderness,  with  all  its 
sacred  furniture,  the  burnt-offering,  the  peace-offering, 
and  all  the  various  sacrifices  which  were  offered  before 

*  Men  destitute  of  fancy  and  humor  will  deny  this,  even  as  the 
eagles  might  dispute  the  lawfulness  of  hawking  for  flies,  yet  as 
swallows  are  created  for  this  last  purpose,  even  so  to  some  men 
the  exercise  of  a  godly  imagination  is  a  main  design  of  their 
constitution. 


166  LECTURES  TO   MY   STCDEXTS. 

God  ?  Why  struggle  for  novelties  when  the  temple  and 
all  its  glories  are  before  you  ?  *  The  largest  capacity  for 
typical  interpretation  will  find  abundant  employment  in 
tlie  undoubted  symbols  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  it  will 
be  safe  to  enter  upon  such  an  exercise,  because  the  sym- 
bols are  of  divine  appointment. 

When  you  have  exhausted  all  the  Old  Testament  types, 
you  have  left  to  you  an  heirloom  of  a  thousand  meia- 
jiJiors.  Benjamiu  Keach,  in  his  laborious  treatise,  proves 
most  practically  what  mines  of  truth  lie  concealed  in 
the  metaphors  of  Scripture.  His  work,  by  the  Avay,  is 
open  to  much  criticism  on  the  score  of  making  metaphors 
run  not  only  on  all-fours,  but  on  as  many  legs  as  a  cen- 
tijicde  ;  but  it  docs  not  deserve  the  condemnation  of  Dr. 
Adam  Clarke,  when  he  says  it  has  done  more  to  debase 
the  taste  both  of  preachers  and  people  than  any  other 
work  of  the  kind.  A  discreet  explanation  of  the  poetical 
allusions  of  Holy  Scripture  will  be  most  acceptable  to 
your  people,  and,  with  God's  blessing,  not  a  little  prof- 
itable. 

But  supposing  you  have  expounded  all  the  usually 
accepted  types,  and  have  cast  light  upon  the  emblems 
and  figurative  expressions,  must  your  fancy  and  delight 
in  similitudes  go  to  sleep  ?  By  no  means.  When  the 
apostle  Paul  finds  a  mystery  in  Melchisedek,  and  speak- 
ing of  Hagar  and  Sarah,  says,  "  Which  things  arc  an 
allegory,"  he  gives  us  a  precedent  for  discovering  scrip- 
tural allegories  in  other  places  besides  the  two  mentioned. 
Indeed,  the  historical  books  not  only  yield  us  here  and 
there  an  allegory,  but  seem  as  a  whole  to  be  arranged 
with  a  view  to  symbolical  teaching.  A  passage  from 
Mr.  Andrew  Jukes'  preface  to  his  work  on  the  types  of 

*  Samuel  Mather  still  remains  an  authority  in  this  lore.  We 
commeud  his  work  to  the  student 


ON   Sl'IRITUALIZlXG.  IG? 

Genesis,  will  show  how,  without  yiolcnce,  a  most  elab- 
orate theory  may  be  constructed  by  a  devout  mind  :  "As 
a  base  or  ground  for  what  is  to  folloAV,  we  first  are  shown 
what  springs  from  man,  and  all  the  different  forms  of  life, 
which  either  by  nature  or  grace  can  grow  out  of  the  root 
of  old  Adam.  Tliis  is  the  book  of  Genesis.  Then  Ave 
Gee,  that  be  it  bad  or  good  which  has  come  out  of  Adam, 
there  must  be  redemjition  ;  so  an  elect  people  by  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb  and  are  saved  from  Egjqit.  This  is 
Exodus.  After  redemption  is  known,  we  come  to  the 
experience  of  the  elect  as  needing  access,  and  learning 
the  Avay  of  it,  to  God  the  Redeemer  in  the  sanctuary. 
This  we  get  in  Leviticus.  Tiien  in  the  wilderness  of 
this  world,  as  pilgrims  from  Egypt,  the  house  of  bond- 
age, to  the  promised  land  be3'ond  Jordan,  tlie  trials  of 
the  journey  are  learned,  from  that  land  of  Avonders  and 
man's  Avisdom  to  the  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey. 
This  is  the  book  of  Numbers.  Then  comes  the  desire  to 
exchange  the  wilderness  for  the  better  land,  from  enter- 
ing which  for  a  season  after  redemption  is  knoA\'n  the 
elect  yet  shrink  ;  answering  to  the  desire  of  the  elect  at 
a  certain  stage  to  know  the  power  of  the  resurrection, 
to  live  even  noAv  as  in  heavenly  places.  The  rules  and 
precepts  Avhich  must  be  obeyed,  if  this  is  to  be  done, 
come  next.  Deuteronomy,  a  second  giving  of  the  laAv, 
a  second  cleansing,  tells  the  way  of  progress.  After 
Avhich  Canaan  is  indeed  reached.  We  go  over  Jordan  : 
we  knoAv  practically  the  death  of  the  flesh,  and  what  it 
is  to  be  circumcised,  and  to  roll  away  the  reproach  of 
Egypt.  We  knoAv  now  what  it  is  to  be  risen  Avitli  Christ, 
and  to  Avrestle,  not  with  flesh  and  blood,  but  Avdth  prin- 
cipalities and  powers  in  heavenly  places.  This  is  Joshua. 
Then  comes  the  failure  of  tlie  elect  in  heavenly  places, 
failure   arising  ironx   making   Imgucs  Avith    Canaanitcti 


16?  LECTURES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

instead  of  overcoming  them.  Tliis  is  Judges.  After 
which  the  different  forms  of  rule,  whicli  the  church  may 
know,  pass  in  review  in  the  books  of  Kings,  from  tlie 
Grst  setting  up  of  rule  in  Israel  down  to  its  extinction, 
when  for  their  sin  tlie  rule  of  Babylon  supersedes  that 
Df  the  elect.  When  this  is  known  with  all  its  shame,  we 
Gfe  the  remnants  of  the  elect,  each  according  to  its 
measure,  doing  what  may  be  done,  if  possible,  to  restore 
Israel ;  some,  like  Ezra,  returning  to  build  the  temple, 
that  is,  to  restore  the  forms  of  true  worship  ;  and  some 
coming  up,  like  Nehemiah,  to  build  the  wall,  that  is,  to 
reestablish,  by  Gentile  permission,  a  feeble  imitation  of 
the  ancient  polity ;  while  a  third  remnant  in  Esther  is 
seen  in  bonds,  but  faithful,  providentially  saved,  though 
God's  name  (and  this  is  characteristic  of  their  state) 
never  appears  througliout  the  whole  record."  I  should 
be  far  from  recommending  you  to  become  as  fanciful  as 
the  ingenious  author  I  have  just  quoted  sometimes  be- 
comes, through  the  large  indulgence  of  his  tendency  to 
mysticism,  but  nevertheless,  you  will  read  the  Word  witli 
greatly  increased  interest  if  you  are  a  sufficiently  careful 
reader  to  have  noticed  the  general  run  of  the  books  of 
the  Bible,  and  their  consecutiveness  as  a  system  of  types. 
Then,  too,  the  faculty  which  turns  to  spiritualizing 
will  be  well  employed  in  generalizing  the  great  universal 
2)rinciples  evolved  hy  minute  and  separate  facts.  This 
is  an  ingenious,  instructive,  and  legitimate  pursuit. 
Perhaps  you  might  not  elect  to  preach  upon,  "Take  it 
by  the  tail,"  but  the  remark  arising  from  it  is  natural 
enough — "there  is  a  way  of  taking  everything."  Moses 
took  the  serpent  by  tlie  tail,  so  there  is  a  mode  of  grasp- 
ins;  our  afflictions  and  finding  them  stiffen  in  our  hands 
into  a  wonder-working  rod  ;  there  is  a  way  of  holding 
the  doctrines  of  grace,  a  way  of  encoui  tcring  ungodly 


ON   SPIRITUALIZING.  1C9 

men,  and  so  on.  In  liundrcds  of  scriptural  incidents 
you  may  find  great  general  jirinciples  which  may  no- 
where be  expressed  in  so  many  words.  Take  the  follow- 
ing instances  from  Mr.  Jay.  From  Psalm  Ixxiy.  14, 
"  Thou  brakest  the  heads  of  leviathan  in  pieces,  and 
gavcst  him  to  be  meat  to  the  people  inhabiting  the  wil- 
derness," he  teaches  the  doctriiie  that  the  greatest  foes 
of  God's  pilgrim  people  shall  be  slain,  and  tlie  remem- 
brance of  the  mercy  shall  refrcsli  the  saints.  From 
Genesis  xxxv.  8,  "But  Deborah,  Rebekah's  nurse,  died, 
and  she  was  buried  beneath  Bcth-el,  under  an  oak  :  and 
the  name  of  it  was  called  Allon-bachutli,"  he  discourses 
upon  good  ^servants,  and  the  certainty  of  death.  Upon 
2  Samuel  xv.  15,  "  And  the  king's  servants  said  unto  the 
king,  Behold,  thy  servants  are  ready  to  do  Avhatsoever 
my  lord  the  king  shall  appoint,"  he  shoAVS  that  such 
language  may  with  propriety  be  adopted  by  Christians, 
and  addressed  to  Christ.  Should  anyone  take  exception 
to  the  form  of  spiritualizing  which  Mr.  Jay  so  efficiently 
and  judiciously  indulged  in,  he  must  be  a  person  whose 
opinion  need  not  sway  you  in  the  least.  After  my  own 
ability  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  do  the  same,  and  the 
outlines  of  many  sermons  of  the  kind  may  be  found  in 
my  little  work  entitled  '•'Evening  by  Evening,"  and  a 
less  liberal  sprinkling  in  its  companion,  "  Morning  by 
Morning." 

A  notable  instance  of  a  good  sermon  fixed  upon  a 
strained  and  unjustifiable  basis,  is  that  of  Everard,  in  his 
"Gospel  Treasury."  In  the  discourse  upon  Joshua  xv. 
16,  17,  where  the  words  are,  "And  Caleb  said.  He  tluit 
smiteth  Kirjath-sepher,  and  taketh  it,  to  him  will  I 
give  Achsah  my  daughter  to  wife.  And  Othniel  the  son 
of  Kenaz,  the  brother  of  Caleb,  took  it :  and  he  gave 
him  Achsah  his  daughter  to  wife  ; "  here  the  run  of  the 


170  LECTURES   TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

preacher's  utterance  is  based  upon  the  translation  of  the 
Hebrew  proper  names,  so  that  he  makes  it  read,  "A 
good  heart  said,  Whosoever  smiteth  and  taketh  the  city 
of  the  letter,  to  him  will  I  give  the  rending  of  the  veil ; 
and  Othniel  took  it  as  being  God's  fit  time  or  opportu- 
nity, and  he  married  Achsah,  that  is,  enjoyed  the  rending 
of  the  veil,  and  thereby  had  the  blessing  both  of  the 
upper  and  nether  springs."  Was  there  no  other  method 
of  showing  that  we  are  to  search  after  the  inner  sense 
of  the  Scripture,  and  not  rest  in  the  mere  words  or 
letter  of  the  Book  ? 

The  2}araMes  of  our  Lord  in  their  expounding  and 
enforcement  afford  the  amplest  scope  for  a  matured  and 
disciplined  fancy,  and  if  these  have  all  passed  before  you, 
tJie  miracles  still  remain,  rich  in  symbolical  teaching. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  miracles  are  the  acted 
sermons  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  You  have  his  "  word 
sermons "  in  his  matchless  teaching,  and  his  "  deed 
sermons  "  in  his  peerless  acts.  Despite  many  doctrinal 
failures,  you  will  find  Trench,  on  the  miracles,  most 
helpful  in  this  direction.  All  our  Lord's  mighty  Avorks 
are  full  of  teaching.  Take  the  story  of  the  healing 
of  the  deaf  and  dumb  man.  The  poor  creatures 
maladies  are  eminently  suggestive  of  man's  lost  estate, 
and  our  Lord's  mode  of  procedure  most  instructively 
illustrates  tlie  plan  of  salvation.  "Jesus  took  him 
aside  from  the  multitude  " — the  soul  must  be  made  to 
feel  its  own  personality  and  individuality,  and  must  be 
led  into  loneliness.  He  "put  his  finger  into  his  ears," 
the  source  of  the  mischief  indicated  ;  sinners  are  con- 
vinced of  their  state.  "And  spat" — the  gospel  is  a 
simple  and  a  despised  means,  and  the  sinner,  in  order 
to  salvati(m,  must  humble  liimself  to  receive  it.  He 
"touched  his  tongue,'" — further  pointing  out  where  the 


ox   SPIRITUALIZIXO.  171 

mischief  lay — our  sense  of  need  grows  on  ns.  "  lie 
"looked  up  to  heaven" — Jesus  reminded  his  patient 
that  all  strength  must  come  from  above — a  lesson  whicli 
e/ery  seeker  must  learn.  "  He  sighed,"  showing  that  the 
sorrows  of  the  Healer  are  the  means  of  our  healing.  And 
when  he  said,  "  Ephphatha,  Be  opened  " — here  was  the 
effectual  word  of  grace  Avhich  wrought  an  immediate, 
perfect,  and  lasting  cure.  From  this  one  exposition 
learn  all,  and  ever  believe  that  the  miracles  of  Christ  arc 
a  great  picture  gallery,  illustrating  his  work  among  the 
sons  of  men. 

Let  it  be  an  instruction,  however,  to  all  who  handle 
either  the  parables  or  the  metaphors,  to  be  discreet. 
Dr.  Gill  is  one  whose  name  must  ever  be  mentioned 
with  honor  and  respect  in  this  house  in  which  his  pulpit 
still  stands,  but  his  exposition  of  the  parable  of  the 
Prodigal  Son  strikes  me  as  being  sadly  absurd  in  some 
points.  The  learned  commentator  tells  us,  **the  fatted 
calf  "  was  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ !  Eeally,  one  shudders 
to  see  spiritualizing  come  to  this.  Then  also  there  is 
his  exposition  of  the  Good  Samaritan.  The  beast  on 
whicli  the  wounded  man  was  j/ia,ced  is  again  our  Lord 
Jesus,  and  the  two  pence  Avhich  the  Good  Samaritan 
gave  to  the  host,  are  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  or 
the  ordinances  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper. 

Despite  this  caution,  you  may  allow  much  latitude 
in  spiritualizing  to  men  of  rare  poetical  temperament, 
such  as  John  Bunyan.  Gentlemen,  did  you  ever  read 
John  Bunyan's  sj^iritualizing  of  Solomon's  Temple  ?  It 
is  a  most  remarkable  performance,  and  even  when  a 
little  strained  it  is  full  of  a  consecrated  ingenuity.  Take, 
for  a  specimen,  one  of  his  most  far-fetched  explana- 
tions, and  see  if  it  can  be  improved.  It  is  on  "the 
Leaves  of  the  Gate  of  the  Temple."     "The  leaves  ot 


172  LECTUEES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

this  gate  or  door,  as  I  told  you  before,  were  folding , 
and  so,  as  was  hinted,  haA'^e  something  of  signification 
in  them.  For  by  this  means  a  man,  especially  a  young 
disciple,  may  easily  be  mistaken ;  thinking  that  the 
whole  passage,  Avlien  yet  but  a  part,  was  open,  whereas 
three  parts  might  be  yet  kept  undiscovered  to  him. 
For  these  doors,  as  I  said  before,  were  never  yet  set 
wide  open,  I  mean  in  the  antitype, ;  never  man  yet  saw 
all  the  riches  and  fulness  which  is  in  Christ.  So  that  I 
say,  a  neiu  comer,  if  he  judged  by  present  sight,  especially 
if  he  saw  but  little,  might  easily  be  mistaken,  where- 
fore such  for  the  most  part  are  most  horribly  afraid  that 
they  shall  never  get  in  thereat.  How  sayest  thou,  young 
comer,  is  not  this  the  case  with  thy  soul  ?  So  it  seems 
to  thee  that  thou  art  too  big,  being  so  great,  so  tun-bellied 
a  sinner  I  But,  0  thou  sinner,  fear  not,  the  doors  are 
folding-doors,  and  may  be  opened  wider,  and  wider 
again  after  that ;  Avherefore  Avhen  thou  comest  to  this 
gate,  and  imaginest  that  there  is  not  space  enough  for 
thee  to  enter,  knock,  and  it  shall  he  wide)'  opened  unto 
thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  received.  Luke  xi.  9  ;  John  vi. 
37.  So  then,  wk'^ever  thou  art,  thou  art  come  to  the 
door  of  which  the  temple  door  was  a  type,  trust  not  to 
thy  first  conceptions  of  things,  but  believe  there  is  grace 
abundant.  Thou  knowest  not  yet  what  Christ  can  do, 
the  door  sarc  folding -doors.  He  can  '  do  exceeding  abun- 
dantly above  all  we  can  ask  or  think.''  Eph.  iii.  20.  The 
hinges  on  which  these  doors  do  hang,  were,  as  I  told 
you,  gold ;  to  signify  that  they  both  turned  upon 
motives  and  motions  of  love,  and  also  that  the  openings 
thereof  were  rich.  Golden  hinges  the  gate  to  God  doth 
turn  upon.  The  posts  on  which  these  doors  did  hang 
ivere  of  the  olive  tree,  that  fat  and  oily  tree,  to  show 
that  they  do  never  open  with  lothness,  or  sluggishness, 


ON  SPIRITUALIZING.  173 

as  doors  do  whose  hinges  Avant  oil.  They  are  always 
oily,  and  so  open  easily  and  quickly  to  those  who 
knock  at  them.  Hence  you  read  that  he  that  dwells 
in  this  house  gives  freely,  loves  freely,  and  doth  us 
good  with  all  his  heart.  *  Yea,'  saitli  he,  *  I  will 
rejoice  over  them  to  do  them  good,  and  I  will  plant 
them  in  this  land  assuredly,  with  my  whole  heart,  and 
with  my  whole  soul.'  Jer.  iii.  12,  14,  22  ;  xxxii.  41  ; 
Eev.  xxi.  6  ;  xxii.  17.  Whei'efore,  the  oil  of  grace,  sig- 
nified by  this  oily  tree,  or  these  olive-posts,  on  which 
these  doors  do  hang,  do  cause  that  they  open  glibly  or 
frankly  to  the  soul. 

AVhen  Bunyan  opens  up  the  meaning  of  the  doors 
being  made  of  fir  wood,  who  but  he  would  have  said, 
"  The_^r  tree  is  also  the  house  of  the  stork,  that  unclean 
bird,  even  as  Christ  is  a  harbor  and  shelter  for  sinners. 
As  for  the  stork,  saith  the  text,  the  fir  tree  is  her  house  ; 
and  Christ  saitli  to  the  sinners  that  see  their  want  of 
shelter,  'Come  unto  me,  and  I  Avill  give  you  rest.'  He 
is  a  refuge  for  the  oppressed,  a  refuge  in  time  of  trouble. 
Deut.  xiv.  18  ;  Lev.  xi.  19  ;  Ps.  civ.  17  ;  Ixxiv.  2,  3  ; 
Matt.  xi.  27,  28;  Heb.  vi.  17-20."  In  his  "House  of 
the  Forest  of  Lebanon "  he  is  still  more  puzzled,  but 
works  his  way  out  as  no  other  man  could  have  done. 
He  finds  the  three  rows  of  pillars  of  fifteen  each  to  be  an 
enigma  rather  too  deep  for  him,  and  gives  it  up,  but  not 
until  he  has  made  some  brave  attempts  upon  it.  Mr. 
Bunyan  is  the  chief,  and  head,  and  lord  of  all  allegor- 
ists,  and  is  not  to  be  followed  by  us  into  the  deep  places 
of  typical  and  symbolical  utterance.  He  was  a  swim- 
mer, we  are  but  mere  waders,  and  must  not  go  beyond 
our  depth. 

I  am  tempted  before  I  close  this  address  to  give  a 
Bketch  or  two  of  spiritualizings  which  were  familiar  to 


174  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

me  ill  my  earliest  days.  I  shall  never  forget  a  sermon 
preached  by  an  uneducated  but  remarkable  man,  who 
was  my  near  neighbor  in  the  county.  I  had  the  notes 
of  the  discourse  from  his  own  lips,  and  I  trust  they  will 
remain  as  notes,  and  never  be  preached  from  again  in 
this  world.  The  text  was,  "  The  night-hawk,  the  owl, 
and  the  cuckoo."  That  might  not  strike  you  as  being 
exceedingly  rich  in  matter  ;  it  did  not  so  strike  me,  and 
therefore  I  innocently  inquired,  ' '  And  what  were  the 
heads?"  He  replied  most  archly,  "Heads?  why, 
wring  the  birds'  necks,  and  there  are  three  directly, 
'  the  night-hawk,  the  owl,  and  the  cuckoo.' "  He  showed 
that  these  birds  were  all  unclean  under  the  law,  and  were 
plain  types  of  unclean  sinners.  Night-hawks  were  per- 
sons who  pilfered  on  the  sly,  also  people  who  adulterated 
their  goods,  and  cheated  their  neighbors  in  an  under- 
hand way  Avithout  being  suspected  to  be  rogues.  As  for 
the  owls,  they  typified  drunkards,  Avho  are  always  liveliest 
at  night,  while  by  day  they  Avill  almost  knock  their 
heads  against  a  post  because  they  are  so  sleepy.  There 
were  owls  also  among  professors.  The  owl  is  a  very 
small  bird  when  he  is  plucked ;  he  only  looks  big  be- 
cause he  wears  so  many  feathers  ;  so,  many  professors  are 
all  feathers,  and  if  you  could  take  away  their  boastful 
professions  there  would  be  very  little  left  of  them. 
Then  the  cuckoos  were  the  church  clergy,  who  always 
utter  the  same  note  whenever  they  open  their  mouths  in 
the  church,  and  live  on  other  birds'  eggs  with  their 
church-rates  and  tithes.  The  cuckoos  were  also,  I  think, 
the  free-willers,  who  were  always  saying,  "Do-do-do-do." 
Was  not  this  rather  too  much  of  a  good  thing  ?  Yet 
from  the  man  who  delivered  it  the  sermon  would  not 
seem  at  all  remarkable  or  odd.  The  same  venerable 
brother  delivered  ti  sermon  equally  singular  but  far  more 


ON    SPIRITUALIZING.  175 

original  and  useful ;  those  who  heard  it  will  remember 
it  to  their  dying  day.  It  was  from  this  text :  "  The 
slotliful  man  roasteth  not  that  which  he  took  in  hunt- 
ing." The  good  old  man  leaned  upon  the  top  of  the  pul- 
pit, and  said,  "  Then,  my  brethren,  he  was  a  lazy  fel- 
low ! "  That  was  the  exordium  ;  and  then  he  went  on 
to  say,  "  He  went  out  a  hunting,  and  after  much  trouble 
he  caught  his  hare,  and  then  was  too  idle  to  roast  it. 
He  was  a  lazy  fellow  indeed  ! "  The  good  man  made  us 
all  feel  how  ridiculous  such  idleness  Avas,  and  then  he 
said,  "  But  then  you  are  very  likely  quite  as  much  to 
blame  as  this  man,  for  you  do  just  the  same.  You  hear 
of  a  popular  minister  coming  down  from  London,  and 
you  put  the  horse  to  the  cart,  and  drive  ten  or  twenty 
miles  to  hear  him  ;  and  then  when  you  have  heard  the 
sermon  you  forget  to  profit  by  it.  You  catch  the  hare 
and  do  not  roast  it ;  you  go  hunting  after  the  truth,  and 
then  you  do  not  receive  it."  Then  he  went  on  to  show, 
that  just  as  meat  needs  cooking  to  prepare  it  for  assimila- 
tion in  the  bodily  system — I  do  not  think  he  used  that 
Avord  though — so  the  truth  needs  to  go  through  a  pro- 
cess before  it  can  be  received  into  the  mind  so  that  we 
may  feed  thereon  and  grow.  He  said  he  should  show 
how  to  cook  a  sermon,  and  he  did  so  most  instructively. 
He  began  as  the  cookery  books  do — First  catch  your 
hare."  "So,"  he  said,  "first  get  a  gospel  sermon." 
Then  he  declared  that  a  great  many  sermons  were  not 
worth  hunting  for,  and  that  good  sermons  were  mourn- 
fully scarce,  and  it  was  worth  while  to  go  any  distance 
to  hear  a  solid,  old-fashioned,  Calvinistic  discourse.  Then 
after  the  sermon  had  been  caught,  there  was  much  about 
it  which  miglit  be  necessary  because  of  the  preacher's  in- 
firmity, which  was  not  profitable,  and  must  be  put  away. 
Here  he  enlarged  upon  discerning  and  judging  what  we 


176  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDEN"T3. 

heard,  and  not  believing  every  word  of  any  man.  Then 
followed  directions  as  to  roasting  a  sermon  ;  run  the  spit 
of  memory  through  it  from  end  to  end,  turn  it  round 
upon  the  roasting-jack  of  meditation,  before  the  fire  of 
a  really  warm  and  earnest  heart,  and  in  that  way  the 
sermon  would  be  cooked  and  ready  to  yield  real  spiritual 
nourishment.  I  do  but  give  you  the  outline,  and  though 
it  may  look  somewhat  laughable,  it  was  not  so  esteemed 
by  the  hearers.  It  was  full  of  allegory,  and  kept  up  the 
attention  of  the  people  from  the  beginning  to  the  end. 
"  AVell,  my  dear  sir,  how  are  you  ?"  was  my  salutation  to 
him  one  morning,  "  I'm  pleased  to  see  you  so  Avell  at  your 
age."  "Yes,  I  am  in  fine  order  for  an  old  man,  and 
hardly  feel  myself  failing  at  alL"  "I  hope  your  good 
health  will  continue  for  years  to  come,  and  that  like 
Moses  you  Avill  go  down  to  your  grave  with  your  eye 
undimmed  and  your  natural  force  unabated."  "All 
very  fine,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  "  but  in  the  first 
place,  Moses  never  went  down  to  his  gi-ave  at  all,  he 
went  up  to  it ;  and  in  the  next  place,  what  is  the 
meaning  of  all  you  have  been  talking  about  ?  Why  did 
not  the  eye  of  Moses  wax  dim  ? "  "I  suppose,  sir," 
said  I,  very  meekly,  "  that  his  natural  mode  of  life  and 
quiet  spirit  had  helped  to  preserve  his  faculties  and  make 
him  a  vigorous  old  man."  "Very  likely,"  said  he, 
"  but  that's  not  what  I  am  driving  at :  what's  the  mean- 
ing, the  si)iritual  teaching  of  the  whole  matter  ?  Is  it 
not  just  this  :  Moses  is  the  law,  and  what  a  glorious  end 
of  the  law  the  Lord  gave  it  on  the  mount  of  his  finished 
work  ;  how  sweetly  its  terrors  are  all  laid  to  sleep  with 
a  kiss  from  God's  mouth  !  and,  mark  you,  the  reason 
why  the  law  no  more  condemns  us  is  not  because  its  eye 
is  dim,  so  that  it  cannot  see  our  sins,  or  because  its  force 
is  abated  with  which  to  curse  and  punish  ;  but  Christ 


ON  SPIRITUALIZIKQ.  177 

has  taken  it  up  to  the  mount,  and  gloriously  made  an 
end  of  it."  Such  was  his  usual  talk  and  such  was  his 
ministry.  Peace  to  his  ashes.  He  fed  sheep  the  first 
years  of  his  life,  and  was  a  shepherd  of  men  the  next, 
and,  as  he  used  to  tell  me,  "  found  men  by  far  the  more 
sheepish  of  the  two."  The  converts  who  found  the  road 
to  heaven  under  him  were  so  many  that,  when  we 
remember  them,  Ave  are  like  those  who  saw  the  lame 
man  leaping  through  the  word  of  Peter  and  John  ;  they 
were  disposed  to  criticise,  but  "  beholding  the  man  that 
was  healed  standing  with  Peter  and  John,  they  could 
say  nothing  against  it." 

With   this  I   close,    reasserting    the    opinion,    that 
guided  by  discretion  and  judgment,  we  may  occasionally 
employ  spiritualizing  with  good  effect  to  our  people  ; 
certainly  we  shall  interest  them  and  keep  them  awake. 
8* 


LECTURE  VIII. 

ON  THE  VOICE. 

Ouii  first  rule  with  regard  to  the  voice  would  be — 
do  nut  tliinh  too  much  about  it,  for  recollect  the  sweetest 
voice  is  nothing  Avithout  something  to  say,  and  however 
well  it  may  be  managed,  it  will  be  like  a  well-driven 
cart  with  nothing  in  it,  unless  you  convey  by  it  impor- 
tant and.  seasonable  truths  to  your  people.  Demos- 
thenes was  doubtless  right,  in  giving  a  first,  second,  and 
third  place  to  a  good  delivery  ;  but  of  what  value  will 
that  be  if  a  man  has  nothing  to  deliver  ?  A  man  with 
a  surpassingly  excellent  voice  who  is  destitute  of  a  well- 
informed  head,  and  an  eaniest  heart,  will  be  "  a  voice 
crying  in  the  wilderness ;  "  or,  to  use  Plutarch's  expres- 
sion, "  Vox  et  prceterea  nildl."  Such  a  man  may  shine 
in  the  choir,  but  he  is  useless  in  the  puljoit.  Whitfield's 
voice,  without  his  heart-power,  Avould  have  left  no  more 
lasting  effects  uj)on  his  hearers  than  Paganini's  fiddle. 
You  are  not  singers  but  preachers  :  your  voice  is  but  a 
secondary  matter  ;  do  not  be  foj)S  with  it,  or  puling  in- 
valids over  it,  r.s  so  many  are.  A  trumpet  need  not  be 
made  of  silver,  a  ram's-horn  will  suffice  ;  but  it  must  be 
able  to  endure  rough  usage,  for  trumpets  are  for  war's 
conflicts,  not  for  the  drawing-rooms  of  fashion. 

On  the  other  hand,  do  not  think  too  little  of  your 
voice,  for  its  excellence  may  greatly  conduce  to  the 
result  which  you  hope  to  produce.     Plato,  in  confessing 


ON   THE   VOICE.  179 

the  power  of  eloquence,  mentions  the  toneoi  the  speaker. 
"  So  strongly,"  says  he,  "  does  the  speech  and  the  tone 
of  tlie  orator  ring  in  my  ears,  that  scarcely  in  the  third 
or  fourth  day,  do  I  recollect  myself,  and  perceive  where 
on  the  earth  I  am ;  and  for  awhile  I  am  willing  to 
believe  myself  living  in  the  isles  of  the  blessed."  Ex- 
ceedingly precious  truths  may  be  greatly  marred  by 
being  delivered  in  monotonous  tones.  I  once  heard  a 
most  esteemed  minister,  who  mumbled  sadly,  compared 
to  "  humble  bee  in  a  pitcher,"  a  vulgar  metaphor  no 
doubt,  but  so  exactly  descriptive,  that  it  brings  to  my 
mind  the  droning  sound  at  this  instant  most  distinctly, 
and  reminds  me  of  the  parody  upon  Gray's  Elegy  : 

••  Now  fades  the  glimmering  subject  from  tlie  sight, 
And  all  the  air  a  sleepy  stillness  holds. 
Save  where  the  parson  hums  his  droning  flight, 
And  drowsy  tinklings  lull  the  slumb'ring  folds." 

What  a  pity  that  a  man  who  from  his  heart  delivered 
doctrines  of  undoubted  value,  in  language  the  most  a]")- 
l")ropriatc,  should  commit  ministerial  suicide  by  harping 
on  one  string,  when  the  Lord  had  given  him  an  instru- 
ment of  many  strings  to  play  upon  !  Alas  !  alas  !  for 
that  dreary  voice,  it  hummed  and  hummed  like  a  mill- 
wheel  to  the  same  unmusical  tune  whether  its  owner 
spake  of  heaven  or  hell,  eternal  life  or  everlasting  wrath. 
It  might  be,  by  accident,  a  little  louder  or  softer,  ac- 
cording to  the  length  of  the  sentence,  but  its  tone  Avas 
still  the  same,  a  dreary  waste  of  sound,  a  howling  wil- 
derness of  speech  in  wliich  there  was  no  possible  relief, 
no  variety,  no  music,  nothing  but  horrible  sameness. 

When  the  wind  blows  through  the  ^olian  harp,  it 
swells  through  all  the  chords,  but  the  heavenly  wind, 
passing  through  some  men,  spends  itself  upon  one  string, 


180  LECTURES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

aiid  that,  for  the  most  part,  the  most  out  of  tune  of  the 
Avhole.  Grace  alone  could  enable  hearers  to  edify  under 
the  drum — drum— drum  of  some  divines.  I  think  an 
impartial  jury  would  bring  in  a  verdict  of  Justifiable 
slumbering  in  many  cases  where  the  sound  emanating 
from  the  preacher  lulls  to  sleep  by  its  reiterated  note. 
Dr.  Guthrie  charitably  traces  the  slumbers  of  a  certain 
Scotch  congregation,  to  bad  ventilation  in  the  meeting- 
house ;  this  has  something  to  do  Avitli  it,  but  a  bad  con- 
dition of  the  valves  of  the  preachei^'s  throat  might  be  a 
still  more  potent  cause.  Brethren,  in  the  name  of 
everything  that  is  sacred,  ring  the  whole  chime  in  youi 
steeple,  and  do  not  dun  your  people  with  the  ding-dong 
of  one  poor  cracked  bell. 

When  you  do  pay  attention  to  the  voice,  take  care 
not  to  fall  into  tlie  liabitual  and  common  affectations  of 
the  present  day.  Scarcely  one  man  in  a  dozen  in  the 
pulpit  talks  like  a  man.  This  affectation  is  not  confined 
to  Protestauts,  for  the  Abbe  Mullois  remarks,  "Every- 
where else,  men  speak  :  they  speak  at  the  bar  and  the 
tribune  ;  but  they  no  longer  speak  in  the  pulpit,  for 
there  we  only  meet  with  a  factitious  and  artificial  lan- 
guage, and  a  false  tone.  This  style  of  speaking  is  only 
tolerated  in  the  church,  because,  unfortunately,  it  is  so 
general  there ;  elsewhei'e  it  would  not  be  endured. 
What  would  be  thought  of  a  man  who  should  converse 
in  a  similar  way  in  a  drawing-room  ?  He  would  cer- 
tainly provoke  many  a  smile.  Some  time  ago  there  was 
a  warder  at  tlie  Pantheon — a  good  sort  of  fellow  in  his 
way — Avho,  in  enumerating  the  beauties  of  the  monu- 
ment, adopted  precisely  the  tone  of  many  of  our  preach- 
ers, and  never  failed  thereby  to  excite  the  hilarity  of  the 
visitors,  who  were  as  much  amused  with  his  style  of 
address  as  with  the  objects  of  interest  which  he  pointed 


ON  THE   VOICE.  181 

out  to  them.     A  man  who  has  not  a  natural  and  true 
dehvery,  should  not  he  allowed  to  occupy  the  pulpit 
from  thence,  at  least,  everything  that  is  false  should  he 

summarily  hanished In   these   days 

of  mistrust  everything  that  is  false  should  be  set  aside  ; 
and  the  best  way  of  correcting  one's  self  in  that  respect, 
as  regards  preaching,  is  frequently  to  listen  to  certain 
monotonous  and  vehement  preachers.  We  shall  come 
away  in  such  disgust,  and  with  such  a  horror  of  their 
delivery,  that  we  shall  prefer  condemning  ourselves  to 
silence  rather  than  imitate  them.  The  instant  you 
abandon  the  natural  and  the  true,  you  forego  the  right 
to  be  believed,  as  well  as  the  right  of  being  listened  to." 
You  may  go  all  around,  to  church  and  chapel  alike,  and 
you  will  find  that  by  far  the  larger  majority  of  our 
preachers  have  a  holy  tone  for  Sundays.  They  liave 
one  voice  for  the  parlor  and  the  bed-room,  and  quite 
another  tone  for  the  pulpit ;  so  that,  if  not  double- 
tongued  sinfully,  they  certainly  are  so  literally.  The 
moment  some  men  shut  the  pulpit  door,  they  leave  their 
own  personal  manhood  behind  them,  and  become  as 
official  as  the  parish  beadle.  There  they  might  almost 
boast  with  the  Pharisee,  that  they  are  not  as  other  men 
are,  although  it  would  be  blasphemy  to  thank  God  for  it. 
No  longer  are  they  carnal  and  speak  as  men,  but  a 
whine,  a  broken  hum-haw,  an  ore  rotundo,  or  some 
other  graceless  mode  of  noise-making,  is  adopted,  to 
prevent  all  suspicion  of  being  natural  and  speaking  out 
of  the  abundance  of  tlie  heart.  When  that  gown  is 
once  on,  how  often  does  it  prove  to  be  the  shroud  of 
the  man's  true  self,  and  the  effeminate  emblem  of  offi- 
cialism ! 

There  are  two  or  three  modes  of  speech  which  I  dare 
Bay  you  will  recognize  as  having  freqiiently  heard.    That 


182  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

dignified,  doctorial,  inflated,  bombastic  style,  which  I 
just  now  called  the  ore  rotundo,  is  not  quite  so  common 
now  as  it  used  to  be,  but  it  is  still  admired  by  some. 
(Unfortunately,  the  Lecturer  could  not  here  be  reported 
by  any  known  form  of  letter-press,  as  he  proceeded  to 
read  a  hymn  with  a  round,  rolling,  swelling  voice.) 
Wlien  a  reverend  gentleman  was  once  blowing  off  steam 
in  this  way,  a  man  in  the  aisle  said  he  thought  the 
preacher  "had  swallowed  a  dumpling,"  but  another 
whispered,  "No,  Jack,  he  ain't swaller'd  un;  he's  got  un 
in  his  mouth  a-wobblin."  I  can  imagine  Dr.  Johnson 
talking  in  that  fashion,  at  Bolt  Court ;  and  from  men  to 
whom  it  is  natural-it  rolls  with  Olympian  grandeur,  but 
in  the  pulpit  away  for  ever  with  all  imitation  of  it ;  if  it 
comes  naturally,  well  and  good,  but  to  mimic  it  is  treason 
to  common  decency ;  indeed,  all  mimicry  is  in  the  pul- 
pit near  akin  to  an  unpardonable  sin. 

There  is  another  style,  at  Avhich  I  beseech  you  not  to 
laugh.  (Given  another  illustration.)  A  method  of 
enunciation  said  to  be  very  lady-like,  mincing,  delicate, 
servant-girlified,  dawdling,  Dundrearyish,  I  know  not 
how  else  to  describe  it.  AVe  have,  most  of  us,  had  the 
felicity  of  hearing  these,  or  some  others,  of  the  extensive 
genus  of  falsettos,  high-stilts,  and  affectations.  I  have 
heard  many  different  varieties,  from  the  fulness  of  the 
Johnsonian  to  the  thinness  of  the  little  genteel  whisper; 
from  the  roaring  of  the  Bulls  of  Bashan  up  to  the  chip, 
chip,  chip  of  a  chafRncb.  I  have  been  able  to  trace  some 
of  our  brethren  to  their  forefathers — I  mean  their  min- 
isterial forefathers,  from  whom  they  first  of  all  gathered 
these  heavenly,  melodious,  sanctified,  in  every  way  beau 
tiful,  but  I  must  honestly  add,  detestable  modes  of  sjocech. 
Tlie  undoubted  order  of  their  oratorical  pedigree  is  as 
follows  :  Chip,   which    was    the  son    of    Lisp,    which 


ox  THE   VOICE.  183 

was  the  son  of  Simper,  which  was  the  son  of  Dandy, 
which  was  the  son  of  Affectation ;  or  Wobbler,  which 
was  the  son  of  Grandiose,  which  was  the  son  of 
Pomposity,  the  same  was  the  fatlier  of  many  sons.  Un 
derstand,  that  where  even  these  horrors  of  ?ound  are 
natural,  I  do  not  condemn  them — let  every  creature 
speak  in  its  own  tongue;  but  the  fact  is,  tliat  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten,  these  sacred  brogues,  which  I  hope 
will  soon  be  dead  languages,  are  unnatural  and  strained. 
I  am  persuaded  that  these  tones  and  semitones  and  mon- 
otones are  Babylonian,  that  they  are  not  at  all  the  Jeru- 
salem dialect ;  for  the  Jerusalem  dialect  has  this  one 
distinguishing  mark,  that  it  is  a  man's  own  mode  of 
speech,  and  is  the  same  out  of  the  pulpit  as  it  is  in  it. 
Our  friend  of  the  affected  ore  rotundo  school  was  never 
known  to  talk  out  of  the  pulpit  as  he  does  in,  or  to  say 
in  the  parlor  in  the  same  tone  which  he  uses  in  the  pul- 
pit, "Will  you  be  so  good  as  to  give  me  another  cup 
of  tea ;  I  take  sugar,  if  you  please. "  He  would  make 
himself  ludicrous  if  he  did  so,  but  the  pulpit  is  to  be  fa- 
vored with  the  scum  of  his  voice,  which  the  parlor  would 
not  tolerate.  I  maintain  that  the  best  notes  a  man's 
voice  is  capable  of  should  be  given  to  the  proclamation 
of  the  gospel,  and  these  are  such  as  nature  teaches  him 
to  use  in  earnest  conversation.  Ezekiel  served  his  Mas- 
ter with  his  most  musical  and  melodious  powers,  so  that 
the  Lord  said,  *'  Thou  art  unto  them  as  a  very  lovely 
song  of  one  that  hath  a  pleasant  voice,  and  can  jilay  well 
on  an  instrument."  Although  this,  alas  !  was  of  no  use 
to  Israel's  hard  heart,  as  nothing  will  be  but  the  Spirit 
of  God,  yet  it  well  became  the  prophet  to  deliver  the 
word  of  the  Lord  in  the  best  style  of  yoice  and  manner. 
In  the  next  place,  if  you  have  any  idiosyncrasies  of 
qteecli,  tvhich  are  disagreeable  to  the  ear,  correct  them  if 


184  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDEKTS. 

possible.*  It  is  admitted  tliat  this  is  much  more  easy 
for  the  teacher  to  inculcate  than  for  you  to  practise. 
Yet  to  young  men  in  the  morning  of  their  ministry,  the 
difficulty  is  not  insuperable.  Brethren  from  the  country 
have  a  flavor  of  their  rustic  diet  in  their  mouths,  remind- 
ing us  irresistibly  of  the  calves  of  Essex,  the  swine  of 
Berkshire,  or  the  runts  of  Suffolk.  AVho  can  mistake 
the  Yorkshire  or  Somersetshire  dialects,  which  are  not 
merely  provincial  pronunciations,  but  tones  also  ?  It 
would  be  difficult  to  discover  the  cause,  but  the  fact  is 
clear  enough,  that  in  some  counties  of  England  men's 
tbroats  seem  to  be  furred  up,  like  long-used  tea-kettles, 
and  in  others,  they  ring  like  brass  music,  with  a  vicious 
metallic  sound.  Beautiful  these  variations  of  nature 
may  be  in  their  season  and  place,  but  my  taste  has  never 
been  able  to  apj^reciate  them.  A  sharp  discordant  squeak, 
like  a  rusty  pair  of  scissors,  is  to  be  got  rid  of  at  all  haz- 
ards ;  so  also  is  a  thick,  inarticulate  utterance  in  which 
no  word  is  complete,  but  nouns,  adjectives,  and  verbs 
are  made  into  a  kind  of  hash.  Equally  objectionable  is 
tliat  ghostly  speech  in  which  a  man  talks  without  using 
his  lips,  ventriloquizing  most  horribly  :  sepulchral  tones 
may  fit  a  man  to  be  an  undertaker,  but  Lazarus  is  not 
called  out  of  his  grave  by  hollow  moans.  One  of  the 
surest  ways  to  kill  yourself  is  to  speak  from  the  throat 
instead  of  the  mouth.  This  misuse  of  nature  will  be 
terribly  avenged  by  her  ;  escape  the  penalty  by  avoiding 
the  offence.  It  may  be  well  in  this  place  to  urge  you  as 
soon  as  you  detect  yourself  interi^osing  hum-haw  pretty 
plentifully  in  your  discourse,  to  purge  yourself  of  the 
insinuating  but  ruinous  habit  at  once.  There  is  no  need 
whatever  for  it,  and  although  those  who  are  now  its  vic- 

*  "  Take  care  of  anything  awkward  or  aflfected  either  in  your 
gtsture,  phrase,  or  pronunciation." — John  Wesley. 


ON  THE  VOICE.  185 

tims  may  never  be  able  to  break  the  chain,  you,  wlio  are 
beginners  in  oratory,  must  scorn  to  wear  the  galling 
yoke.  It  is  even  needful  to  say,  open  your  moutlis  when 
you  speak,  for  much  of  inarticulate  mumbling  is  the 
result  of  keeping  the  mouth  half  closed.  It  is  not  in 
vain  that  the  evangelists  have  written  of  our  Lord,  ''He 
opened  lu's  month  and  taught  them."  Open  wide  the 
doors  from  which  such  goodly  truth  is  to  march  forth. 
Moreover,  brethren,  avoid  the  use  of  the  nose  as  an  organ 
of  speech,  for  the  best  authorities  are  agreed  that  it  is 
intended  to  smell  with.  Time  was,  when  the  nasal 
twang  was  the  correct  thing,  but  in  this  degenerate  ago 
you  had  better  obey  the  evident  suggestion  of  nature, 
and  let  the  mouth  keep  to  its  Avork  withoiit  the  interfer- 
ence of  the  olfactory  instrument.  Should  an  American 
student  be  present  he  must  excuse  my  pressing  this 
remark  upon  his  attention.  Abhor  the  practice  of  some 
men,  who  will  not  bring  out  the  letter  ''r,"  such  a 
habit  is  "vewy  wuinous  and  wediculous,  vewy  wetched 
and  wepwehensible."  Now  and  then  a  brother  has  the 
felicity  to  possess  a  most  winning  and  delicious  lisp. 
This  is  perhaps  among  the  least  of  evils,  where  the  hvother 
himself  is  little  and  winning,  but  it  Avould  ruin  any  being 
wlio  aimed  at  manliness  and  force.  I  can  scarcely  con- 
ceive of  Elijah  lisping  to  Ahab,  or  Paul  prettily  chipping 
his  words  on  Mars'  Hill.  There  may  be  a  peculiar  pathos 
about  a  weak  and  watery  eye,  and  a  faltering  style  ;  we 
will  go  further,  and  admit  that  Avhere  these  are  the 
result  of  intense  passion,  they  are  sublime ;  but  some 
possess  them  by  birth,  and  use  them  rather  too  freely : 
it  is,  to  say  the  least,  unnecessary  for  you  to  imitate  them. 
Speak  as  educated  nature  suggests  to  you,  and  you  will 
do  well ;  but  let  it  be  educated,  and  not  raw,  rude, 
uncultivated  nature.     Demosthenes  took,  as  you  know, 


186  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

unbounded  pains  witli  his  voice,  and  Cicero,  wlio  was 
naturally  weak,  made  a  long  journey  into  Greece  to  cor- 
rect his  manner  of  speaking.  With  far  nobler  themes, 
let  us  not  be  less  ambitious  to  excel.  ''Deprive  me  of 
everything  else,"  says  Gregory,  of  Nazianzen,  "but  leave 
me  eloquence,  and  I  shall  never  regret  the  voyages  which 
I  have  made  in  order  to  study  it." 

Always  speak  so  as  to  be  heard.  I  know  a  man  who 
weighs  sixteen  stone,  and  ouglit  to  be  able  to  be  heard 
half-a-mile,  who  is  so  graciously  indolent,  that  in  his 
small  place  of  worship  you  can  scarcely  hear  him  in  the 
front  of  the  gallery.  What  is  the  use  of  a  preacher 
whom  men  cannot  b<^-ar  ?  Modesty  should  lead  a  voice- 
less man  to  give  place  to  others  who  are  more  fitted  for 
the  work  of  proclaiming  the  messages  of  the  King. 
Some  men  are  loud  enough,  but  tliey  are  not  distinct, 
their  words  overlap  each  other,  play  at  leap-frog,  or  trip 
each  other  up.  Distinct  utterance  is  far  more  important 
than  wind-power.  Do  give  a  word  a  fair  chance,  do  not 
break  its  back  in  your  vehemence,  or  run  it  off  its  legs 
in  your  haste.  It  is  hateful  to  hear  a  big  fellow  mutter 
and  whisper  when  his  lungs  are  quite  strong  enough  for 
the  loudest  speech  ;  but  at  the  same  time,  let  a  man 
shout  ever  so  lustily,  he  will  not  be  well  heard  unless  ho 
learns  to  push  his  words  forward  with  due  space  between. 
To  speak  too  slowly  is  miserable  work,  and  subjects 
active-minded  hearers  to  the  disease  called  the  "hor- 
rors." It  is  impossible  to  hear  a  man  who  crawls  along 
at  a  mile  an  hour.  One  word  to-day  and  one  to-morrow 
is  a  kind  of  slow-fire  Avhich  martyrs  only  could  enjoy. 
Excessively  rapid  speaking,  tearing  and  raving  into  utter 
rant,  is  quite  as  inexcusable ;  it  is  not,  and  never  can  be 
powerful,  except  Avith  idiots,  for  it  turns  what  should  be 
an   army   of   words   into   a   mob,  and  most   effectually 


ON   THE   VOICE.  187 

drowns  tlie  sense  in  floods  of  sound.  Occasionally,  one 
hears  an  infuriated  orator  of  indistinct  utterance,  whose 
impetuosity  hurries  him  on  to  such  a  confusion  of 
sounds,  that  at  a  little  distance  one  is  reminded  of 
Lucan's  lines  : 

"  Her  gabbling  tongue  a  muttering  tone  confounds, 
Discordant  and  unlike  to  human  sounds  ; 
It  seem'd  of  dogs  the  bark,  of  wolves  the  howl, 
The  doleful  screeching  of  the  midnight  owl  ; 
The  hiss  of  snakes,  tlie  hungry  lion's  roar, 
The  bound  of  billows  beating  on  the  shore ; 
The  groan  of  winds  among  the  leafy  wood, 
And  burst  of  thunder  from  the  rending  cloud  ! 
'Twas  these,  all  these  in  cue." 

It  is  an  infliction  not  to  be  endured  twice,  to  hear 
a  brother  who  mistakes  perspiration  for  inspiration,  tear 
along  like  a  wild  horse  with  a  hornet  in  its  ear  till  he 
has  no  more  wind,  and  must  needs  pause  to  pump  his 
lungs  full  again  ;  a  repetition  of  this  indecency  several 
times  in  a  sermon  is  not  uncommon,  but  is  most  painful. 
Pause  soon  enough  to  prevent  that  "hough,  liough," 
which  rather  creates  pity  for  the  breathless  orator  than 
sympathy  with  the  subject  in  hand.  Your  audience  ouglit 
not  to  know  that  you  breathe  at  all — the  process  of  respi- 
ration should  be  as  unobserved  as  the  circulation  of  the 
blood.  It  is  indecent  to  let  the  mere  animal  function  of 
breathing  cause  any  hiatus  in  your  discourse. 

Do  not  as  a  rule  exert  your  voice  to  tlie  utmost  in  ordi- 
nary preaching.  Two  or  three  earnest  men,  now  pres- 
ent, are  tearing  themselves  to  p'eces  by  needless  bawling  ; 
their  poor  lungs  are  irritated,  and  their  larynx  inflamcil 
by  boisterous  shouting,  from  which  they  seem  unable  to 
refrain.  Now  it  is  all  very  well  to  "Cry  aloud  and 
spare  not,"  but  "  Do  thyself  no  harm "  is  apostolical 


188  LECTUKES   TO    MY    STl/DENTS. 

advice.  When  persons  can  hear  you  with  lialf  the 
amount  of  voice,  it  is  as  well  to  save  the  superfluous 
force  for  times  when  it  may  be  wanted.  "Waste  not, 
*'want  not "  may  apply  here  as  well  as  elsewhere.  Be 
a  little  economical  with  that  enormous  volume  of  sound. 
Do  not  give  your  hearers  head-aches  when  you  mean  to 
give  them  heart-aches  :  you  aim  to  keep  them  from 
sleeping  in  their  pews,  but  remember  it  is  not  needful 
to  burst  the  drums  of  their  ears.  *'  The  Lord  is  not  in 
the  wind."  Thunder  is  not  lightning.  Men  do  not 
hear  in  proportion  to  the  noise  created  ;  in  fact,  too 
much  noise  stuns  the  ear,  creates  reverberations  and 
echoes,  and  effectually  injures  the  power  of  your  ser- 
mons. Adapt  your  voice  to  your  audience ;  when 
twenty  thousand  are  before  you,  draw  out  the  stops 
and  give  the  full  peal,  but  not  in  a  room  which  will 
only  hold  a  score  or  two.  Whenever  I  enter  a  place  to 
preach,  I  unconsciously  calculate  how  much  sound  is 
needed  to  fill  it,  and  after  a  few  sentences  my  key  is 
pitched.  If  you  can  make  the  man  at  the  end  of  the 
chapel  hear,  if  you  can  see  that  he  is  catching  your 
thought,  you  may  be  sure  that  those  nearer  can  hear 
you,  and  no  more  force  is  needed,  perhaps  a  little  less 
will  do — watch  and  see.  Why  speak  so  as  to  be  heard 
in  the  street  when  there  is  nobody  there  who  is  listening 
to  you  ?  Whether  in  doors  or  out,  see  that  the  most 
remote  hearers  can  follow  you,  and  that  will  be  sufficient. 
By  the  way,  I  may  observe,  that  brethren  should  out  of 
mercy  to  the  weak,  always  attend  carefully  to  the  force 
of  their  voices  in  sick  rooms,  and  in  congregations 
where  some  are  known  to  be  very  infirm.  It  is  a  cruel 
thing  to  sit  down  by  a  sick  man's  bed-side,  and  shout 
out  "  THE  LORD  IS  MY  SHEPHERD."  If  you  act 
so  thoughtlessly,  the  poor  man  will  say  as  soon  as  you 


OSr  THE   VOICE.  189 

are  down  stairs,  "  Dear  me  !  ho-w  my  head  aches.  I  am 
glad  the  good  man  is  gone,  Mary ;  tliat  is  a  very  pre- 
cious Psalm  and  so  quiet  like,  but  he  read  it  out  like 
thunder  and  lightning,  and  almost  stunned  me!" 
Kecollect,  you  younger  and  unmarried  men,  that  soft 
whispers  will  suit  the  invalid  better  than  roll  of  drum 
and  culverin. 

Observe  carefully  the  rule  to  vai'i/  the  force  of  your 
voice.  The  old  rule  was,  to  begin  very  softly,  gradually 
rise  higher,  and  bring  out  your  loudest  notes  at  the  end. 
Let  all  such  regulations  be  blown  to  pieces  at  the  can- 
non's mouth ;  they  are  impertinent  and  misleading. 
Speak  softly  or  loudly,  as  the  emotion  of  the  moment 
may  suggest,  and  observe  no  artificial  or  fanciful  rules. 
Artificial  rules  are  an  utter  abomination.  As  M.  de 
Cormorin  satirically  puts  it,  "  Be  impassioned,  thunder, 
rage,  Aveep,  up  to  the  fifth  word,  of  tlie  third  sentence, 
of  the  tenth  paragraph,  of  the  tentli  leaf.  How  easy 
that  would  be  !  Above  all,  how  very  natural ! "  In 
imitation  of  a  popular  preacher,  to  Avhom  it  was  una- 
voidable, a  certain  minister  was  accustomed  in  the 
commencement  of  his  sermon  to  speak  in  so  low  a  key 
that  no  one  could  possibly  hear  him.  Everybody  leaned 
forward,  fearing  something  good  was  being  lost  in  tiio 
air,  but  their  straining  was  in  vain,  a  holy  mutter  was  all 
they  could  discern.  If  the  brother  could  not  have  spoken 
out  none  should  have  blamed  him,  but  it  was  a  most 
absurd  thing  to  do  this  when  in  a  short  time  he  proved 
the  power  of  his  lungs  by  filling  the  whole  structure 
by  sonorous  sentences.  If  the  first  half  of  his  discourse 
was  of  no  importance,  why  not  omit  it  ?  and  if  of  any 
value  at  all,  why  not  deliver  it  distinctly  ?  Effect, 
gentlemen,  that  was  the  point  aimed  at ;  he  knew  that 
one  who  spake  in  that  fashion  had  produced  great  effects. 


190  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDEXT9. 

and  he  hoped  to  rival  him.  If  any  of  you  dare  to  com- 
mit such  a  folly  for  such  a  detestable  object,  I  heartily 
wish  you  had  never  entered  this  Institution.  I  tell  you 
most  seriously,  that  the  thing  called  "  effect  "  is  hateful, 
because  it  is  untrue,  artificial,  tricky,  and  therefore 
despicable.  Never  do  anything  for  effect,  but  scorn  the 
stratagems  of  little  minds,  hunting  after  the  approval 
of  connoisseurs  in  pi-eaching,  who  are  a  race  as  obnox- 
ious to  a  true  minister  as  locusts  to  the  Eastern  hus- 
bandman. But  I  digress  :  he  clear  and  distinct  at  the 
very  first.  Your  exordia  are  too  good  to  be  wliispercd  to 
space.  Speak  them  out  boldly,  and  command  attention 
at  the  very  outset  by  your  manly  tones.  Do  not  start 
at  the  highest  pitch  as  a  rule,  for  then  you  Avill  not 
be  able  to  rise  when  you  warm  with  the  work  ;  but  still 
be  outspoken  from  the  first.  Lower  the  voice  when 
suitable,  even  to  a  whisper ;  for  soft,  deliberate,  solemn 
utterances  are  not  only  a  relief  to  the  ear,  but  have  a 
great  aptitude  to  reach  the  heart.  Do  not  be  afraid  of 
the  low  keys,  for  if  you  throw  force  into  them  they  are 
as  well  heard  as  the  shouts.  You  need  not  speak  in  a 
loud  voice  in  order  to  be  heard  well.  Macaulay  says  of 
William  Pitt,  "  His  voice,  even  when  it  sank  to  a  whis- 
per, was  heard  to  the  remotest  benches  of  the  House  of 
Commons."  It  has  been  well  said  that  the  most  noisy 
gun  is  not  the  one  which  carries  a  ball  the  furthest ; 
the  crack  of  a  rifle  is  anything  but  noisy.  It  is  not  the 
loudness  of  your  voice,  it  is  the  force  which  you  put  into  it 
that  is  effective.  I  am  certain  that  I  could  whisper  so 
as  to  be  heard  throughout  every  corner  of  our  great 
Tabernacle,  and  I  am  equally  certain  that  I  could  holloa 
and  shout  so  that  nobody  could  understand  me.  The 
thing  could  be  done  here,  but  perhaps  the  example  is 
heedless,  as  I  fear  some  of  you  perform  tlie  businsss  with 


ON  THE   VOICE.  101 

remarkable  success.  Waves  of  air  may  dash  upon  the 
ear  in  such  rapid  succession  that  they  create  no  trans- 
latable impression  on  the  auditory  nerve.  Ink  is 
necessary  to  write  with,  but  if  you  upset  the  ink  bottle 
over  tlie  sheet  of  paper,  you  convey  no  meaning  thereby, 
so  is  it  with  sound  ;  sound  is  the  ink,  but  manage- 
ment is  needed,  not  quantity,  to  produce  an  intelligible 
writing  upon  the  ear.  If  your  sole  ambition  be  to  com- 
pete with — 

"  Stentor  the  strong,  endued  witli  brazen  lungs, 
Whose  throat  surpassed  the  force  of  fifty  tongues." 

then  bawl  yourselves  into  Elysium  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
but  if  you  wish  to  be  understood,  and  so  to  be  of  service, 
shun  the  reproach  of  being  "  impotent  and  loud."  You 
are  aware  that  shrill  sounds  travel  the  farthest  :  the 
singular  cry  which  is  used  by  the  travellers  in  the  wilds 
of  Australia,  owes  its  remarkable  power  to  its  shrillness. 
A  bell  will  be  heard  much  farther  off  than  a  drum  ;  and 
very  singularly,  the  more  musical  a  sound  is  the  farther 
it  travels.  It  is  not  the  thumping  of  the  piano  which  is 
needed,  but  the  judicious  sounding  of  the  best  keys. 
You  will  therefore  feel  at  liberty  to  ease  the  strain  very 
frequently  in  the  direction  of  loudness,  and  you  Avill  be 
greatly  relieving  both  the  ears  of  the  audience  and  your 
own  lungs.  Try  all  methods,  from  the  sledge-hammer 
to  the  puff-ball.  Be  as  gentle  as  a  zephyr  and  as  furious 
as  a  tornado.  Be,  indeed,  just  what  every  common- 
sense  person  is  in  his  speech  when  he  talks  naturally, 
l^leads  vehemently,  Avhispers  confidentially,  appeals  plaia- 
tively,  or  publishes  distinctly. 

Next  to  the  moderation  of  lung-force,  I  should  placo 
the  rule,  mochilate  your  tones.  Alter  the  key  frequently 
and  vary  the  strain  constantly.     Let  the  base,  the  trel»ic. 


192  LECTURES   TO    MY    STL'DEXTS. 

and  the  tenor,  take  their  turn.  I  beseech  you  to  do  this 
out  of  pity  to  yourself  and  to  those  who  hear  you.  God 
has  mercy  upon  us  and  arranges  all  things  to  meet  our 
cravings  for  variety  ;  let  us  have  mercy  upon  our  fellow- 
creatures,  and  not  persecute  them  with  the  tedium  of 
sameness.  It  is  a  most  barbarous  thing  to  inflict  upon 
the  lympanum  of  a  poor  fellow  creature's/ear  the  anguish 
of  being  bored  and  gimleted  with  the  same  sound  for 
half  an  hour.  What  swifter  mode  of  rendering 'the  mind 
idiotic  or  lunatic  could  be  conceived  than  the  perpetual 
droning  of  a  beetle,  or  buzzing  of  a  blue-bottle,  in  the 
organ  of  hearing  ?  What  dispensation  have  you  by 
which  you  are  to  be  tolerated  in  such  cruelty  to  the  help- 
less victims  who  sit  under  your  drum-drum  ministrations  ? 
Kind  nature  frequently  spares  the  drone's  unhappy  vic- 
tims the  full  effect  of  his  tortures  by  steeping  them  in 
sweet  repose.  This,  however,  you  do  not  desire  ;  then 
speak  with  varied  voice.  How  few  ministers  remember 
that  monotony  causes  sleep.  I  fear  the  charge  brought 
by  a  writer  in  the  "Imperial  Eeview"  is  true  to  the 
letter  of  numbers  of  my  brethren.  "  We  all  know  how 
the  noise  of  running  water,  or  the  murmur  of  the  sea, 
or  the  sighing  of  the  south  wind  among  the  pines,  or  the 
moaning  of  wood-doves,  induces  a  delicious  dreamy  lan- 
guor. Far  be  it  from  us  to  say  that  the  voice  of  a  mod- 
ern divine  resembles,  in  the  slightest  degree,  any  of  these 
sweet  sounds,  yet  the  effect  is  the  same,  and  few  can 
resist  the  drowsy  influences  of  a  lengthy  dissertation, 
delivered  without  the  slightest  variation  of  tone  or  alter- 
ation of  expression.  Indeed,  the  very  exceptional  use  of 
the  phrase  '  an  awakening  discourse,' even  by  those  most 
familiar  with  such  matters,  conveys  the  implication  tliat 
the  great  majority  of  pulpit  harangues  are  of  a  decidedly 
soporific  tendency.     It  is  an  ill  case  when  the  proaclicr 


ox   THE  VOICE.  193 

Leaves  his  hearers  perplex 'd — 
Twixt  the  two  to  detennino  ; 
'Watch  and  praj','  says  the  text, 
'  Go  to  sleep/  says  the  sermou." 

However  musical  year  voice  may  be  in  itself,  if  you 
continue  to  sound  tlie  same  chord  perpetually,  your 
hearers  will  perceive  that  its  notes  are  by  distance  made 
more  sweet.  Do  in  the  name  of  humanity  cease  inton- 
ing and  take  to  rational  speaking.  Should  this  argu- 
ment fail  to  move  you,  I  am  so  earnest  ahout  this  point, 
that  if  you  will  not  follow  my  advice  out  of  mercy  to  your 
hearers,  yet  do  it  out  of  mercy  to  yourselves  ;  for  as  God 
in  his  infinite  wisdom  has  been  j)leased  always  to  append 
a  penalty  to  every  sin  against  his  natural  as  well  as  moral 
laws,  so  the  evil  of  monotony  is  frequently  avenged  by 
that  dangerous  disease,  called  dysphonia  clericoruni,  or, 
"  Clergyman's  sore  throat."  When  certain  of  our 
brethren  are  so  beloved  by  their  hearers  that  they  do  not 
object  to  pay  a  handsome  sum  to  get  rid  of  them  for  a 
few  months,  when  a  journey  to  Jerusalem  is  recom- 
mended and  provided  for,  bronchitis  of  a  modified  order 
is  so  remarkably  overruled  for  good,  that  my  present 
argument  will  not  disturb  their  equanimity ;  but  such  is 
not  our  lot,  to  us  bronchitis  means  real  misery,  and 
therefore,  to  avoid  it,  we  would  follow  any  sensible  sug- 
gestion. If  you  wish  to  ruin  your  throats,  you  can 
speedily  do  so,  but  if  you  wish  to  preserve  them,  note 
what  is  now  laid  before  you,  I  have  often  in  this  rooni 
compared  the  voice  to  a  drum.  If  the  drummer  should 
always  strike  in  one  place  on  the  head  of  his  drum,  the 
skin  would  soon  wear  into  a  hole  ;  but  how  much  longer 
it  would  have  lasted  him  if  he  had  varied  his  thumping 
and  had  used  the  entire  surface  of  the  drum-head  !  So 
it  is  with  a  man's  voice.  If  he  uses  always  the  same 
9 


lOi  LECTUEES   TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

lone,  lie  will  "wear  a  hole  in  that  part  of  the  throat  which 
is  most  exercised  in  i^rodncing  that  monotony,  and  very 
soon  he  will  snffer  from  bronchitis.  I  have  heard  snr- 
geons  affirm,  that  Dissenting  bronchitis  differs  from  the 
Church  of  England  article.  There  is  an  ecclesiastical 
twang  which  is  much  admired  in  the  establishment,  a 
sort  of  steeple-in-the-throat  grandeur,  an  aristocratic, 
theologic,  parsonic,  supernatural,  infra-mouthing  of  lan- 
guage and  rolling  over  of  words.  It  may  be  illustrated 
by  the  following  specimen.  "  He  that  hath  yaws  to  yaw 
let  him  yaw,"  Avhich  is  a  remarkable,  if  not  impressive, 
rendering  of  a  Scripture  text.  Who  does  not  know  the 
hallowed  way  of  iDronouncing — ''  Dearly  beloved  breth- 
ren, the  Scripture  movetli  us  in  diver  places  "  ?  It  rolls 
in  my  ears  now  like  Big  Ben — coupled  with  boyish  mem- 
ories of  monotonous  peals  of  "  The  Prince  Albert,  Al- 
bert Prince  of  Wales,  and  all  the  Eoyal  Family.  .  .  . 
Amen."  Now,  if  a  man  who  talks  so  unnaturally  does 
not  get  bronchitis,  or  some  other  disease,  I  can  only  say 
that  throat  diseases  must  be  very  sovereignly  dispensed. 
At  the  Nonconformist  hobbies  of  utterance  I  have 
already  struck  a  blow,  and  I  believe  it  is  by  them  that 
larynx  and  lungs  become  delicate,  and  good  men  suc- 
cumb to  silence  and  the  grave.  Should  you  desire  my 
authority  for  the  threat  which  I  have  held  out  to  you,  I 
shall  give  you  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Macrcady,  the  eminent 
tragedian,  who,  since  he  looks  at  the  matter  from  an 
impartial  but  experimental  standpoint,  is  worthy  of  a 
respectful  hearing.  '*  Eelaxed  throat  is  usuariy  caused, 
not  so  miich  by  exercising  the  organ,  as  by  the  kind  of 
exercise  ;  that  is,  not  so  much  by  long  or  loud  speaking, 
as  by  speaking  in  a  feigned  voice.  I  am  not  sure  that  I 
shall  be  understood  in  this  statement,  but  there  is  not 
one  person  in,   I  may  say,  ten  thousand,   who   in  ad- 


ON   THE   VOICE.  195 

dressing  a  body  of  people,  does  so  in  his  natural  voice  ; 
and  this  habit  is  most  especially  observable  in  the  pulpit. 
I  believe  that  relaxation  of  the  throat  results  from  vio- 
lent elforts  in  these  affected  tones,  and  that  severe  irrita- 
tion, and  often  ulceration,  is  the  consequence.  The 
labor  of  a  whole  day's  duty  in  a  church  is  nothing,  in 
point  of  labor,  compared  witli  the  performance  of  one  of 
Shakespeare's  leading  characters,  nor,  I  should  suppose, 
with  any  of  the  very  great  displays  made  by  our  leading 
statesmen  in  the  Houses  of  Parliament ;  and  I  feel  very 
certain  that  the  disorder,  which  you  designate  as  '  Cler- 
gyman's sore  throat,'  is  attributable  generally  to  the 
mode  of  speaking,  and  not  to  the  length  of  time  or  vio- 
lence of  effort  tliat  may  be  employed.  I  have  known 
several  of  my  former  contemporaries  on  the  stage  suffer 
from  sore  throat,  but  I  do  not  think,  among  those  emi- 
nent in  their  art,  that  it  could  be  regarded  as  a  prevalent 
disease."  Actors  and  barristers  have  mucli  occasion  to 
strain  their  vocal  powers,  and  yet  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  a  counsel's  sore  throat,  or  a  tragedian's  bronchitis  ; 
simply  because  these  men  dare  not  serve  the  i^ublic  in  so 
slovenly  a  manner  as  some  preachers  serve  their  God. 
Samuel  Fen  wick,  Esq.,  M.  D.,  in  a  popular  treatise  upon 
"Diseases  of  the  Throat  and  Lungs,"*  has  most  wisely 
said,  "  From  what  was  stated  respecting  the  physiology 
of  the  vocal  chords,  it  will  be  evident  that  continued 
speaking  in  one  tone  is  much  more  fatiguing  than  fre- 
quent alterations  in  the  pitch  of  the  voice  :  because  by 
the  former,  one  muscle  or  set  of  muscles  alone  is  strained, 
while  by  the  latter,  different  muscles  are  brought  into 
action,  and  thus  relieve  one  another.     In  the  same  way, 

*  A  popular  Treatise  on  the  "  Causes  and  Prevention  of  Dis- 
eases," by  Samuel  Fenwick,  M.  D.  Volume  1,  "Diseases  of  the 
Throat  and  Lungs."     John  Churchill,  New  Burlington  street. 


196  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

a  man  raising  liis  arm  at  right  angles  to  his  bodj?,  be- 
comes fatigiied  in  five  or  ten  minutes,  because  only  one 
set  of  muscles  has  to  bear  the  weight ;  but  these  same 
muscles  can  work  the  whole  day  if  their  action  is  alter- 
nated with  that  of  others.  Whenever,  therefore,  we 
hear  a  clergyman  droning  through  the  churcli  service, 
and  in  the  same  manner  and  tone  of  voice  reading,  pray- 
ing, and  exhorting,  Ave  may  be  perfectly  sure  that  he  is 
giving  ten  times  more  labor  to  his  vocal  chords  than  is 
absolutely  necessary." 

This  may  be  the  place  to  reiterate  an  opinion  which 
I  have  often  expressed  in  this  place,  of  which  I  am 
reminded  by  the  author  whom  I  have  quoted.  If  min- 
isters would  speak  oftener,  their  throats  and  lungs  would 
be  less  liable  to  disease.  Of  this  I  am  quite  sure  ;  it  is 
matter  of  personal  experience  and  wide  observation,  and 
I  am  confident  that  I  am  not  mistaken.  Gentlemen, 
twice  a  week  preaching  is  very  dangerous,  but  I  have 
found  five  or  six  times  healthy,  and  even  twelve  or  four- 
teen not  excessive.  A  costermonger  set  to  cry  cauli- 
flowers and  potatoes  one  day  in  the  week,  would  find  the 
effort  most  laborious,  but  when  he  for  six  successive  days 
fills  streets  and  lanes  and  alleys  witli  his  sonorous  din,  he 
finds  no  dysphonia  j^omariorum,  or,  "  Costermonger's 
sore  throat,"  laying  him  aside  from  his  humble  toils. 
I  was  pleased  to  find  my  opinion,  that  infrequent  preach- 
ing is  the  root  of  many  diseases,  thus  plainly  declared  by 
Dr.  Fenwick.  "All  the  directions  which  have  been 
here  laid  down  will,  I  believe,  be  ineffectual  without 
regular  daily  practice  of  the  voice.  Nothing  seems  to 
have  such  a  tendency  to  produce  this  disease  as  the  oc- 
casional prolonged  speaking,  alternating  with  long  inter- 
vals of  rest,  to  which  clei-gymen  are  more  particularly 
subject.     Any  one  giving  the  subject  a  moment's  con- 


ON   THE    VOICE.  197 

Biderntion  will  readily  understand  this.  If  a  man,  or  any 
otlier  animal,  be  intended  for  any  unusual  muscular 
exertion,  he  is  regularly  exercised  in  it,  day  by  day,  and 
labor  is  thus  rendered  easy  which  otherwise  it  would  be 
almost  impossible  to  execute.  But  the  generality  of  the 
clerical  jirofession  undergo  a  great  amount  of  muscular 
iBxertion  in  the  way  of  speaking  only  on  one  day  of  the 
week,  whilst  in  the  remaining  six  days  they  scarcely  ever 
raise  their  voice  above  the  usual  pitch.  Were  a  smith 
or  a  carpenter  thus  occasionally  to  undergo  the  fatigue 
connected  with  the  exercise  of  his  trade,  he  would  not 
only  be  quite  unfitted  for  it,  but  lie  would  lose  the  skill 
he  had  acquired.  The  example  of  the  most  celebrated 
orators  the  world  has  seen  proves  the  advantages  of  reg- 
ular and  constant  practice  of  speaking  :  and  I  would  on 
this  account,  most  strongly  recommend  all  persons  sub- 
ject to  this  complaint  to  read  aloud  once  or  twice  a  day, 
using  the  same  pitch  of  voice  as  in  the  pulpit,  and  pay- 
ing especial  attention  to  the  position  of  the  chest  and 
throat,  and  to  clear  and  proper  articulation  of  the  words." 
Mr.  Beecher  is  of  the  same  opinion,  for  he  remarks, 
"  NeAvsboys  show  what  out-of-door  practice  will  do  for  a 
man's  lungs.  What  would  the  pale  and  feeble-speaking 
minister  do  who  can  scarcely  make  his  voice  reach  two 
hundred  auditors  if  he  were  set  to  cry  newspapers  ? 
Those  New  York  newsboys  stand  at  the  head  of  a  street, 
and  send  down  their  voices  through  it,  as  an  athletic 
would  roll  a  ball  down  an  alley.  AVe  advise  men  train- 
ing for  speaking  professions  to  peddle  wares  in  tlie 
streets  for  a  little  time.  Young  ministers  might  go  into 
partnership  Avith  newsboys  awhile,  till  they  got  their 
mouths  open  and  their  larynx  nerved  and  toughened." 

Gentlemen,  a  nee  Iful  rale — always  suit  your  voice 
to  your  matter.     Do  not  be  jubilant  over  a  doleful  sub- 


108  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

ject,  and  on  the  other  hand,  do  not  drag  lieavily  where 
tlie  tones  ought  to  trip  along  merrily,  as  though  they 
were  dancing  to  the  tune  of  the  angels  in  heaven.  This 
rule  I  shall  not  enlarge  upon,  but  rest  assured  it  is  of 
the  utmost  importance,  and  if  obediently  followed,  will 
always  secure  attention,  provided  your  matter  is  worth 
it.  Suit  your  voice  to  your  matter  always,  and,  above 
all,  in  every tldng  be  natural.  *  A^vay  forever  Avith  slavish 
attention  to  rules  and  models.  Do  not  imitate  other  peo- 
ple's voices,  or,  if  from  an  unconquerable  propensity  you 
must  follow  them,  emulate  every  orator's  excellences, 
and  the  evil  will  be  lessened.  I  am  myself,  by  a  kind 
of  irresistible  influence,  drawn  to  be  an  imitator,  so  that 
a  journey  to  Scotland  or  Wales  will  for  a  week  or  two 
materially  affect  my  2)ronunciation  and  tone.  Strive 
against  it  I  do,  but  there  it  is,  and  the  only  cure  I  know 
of  is  to  let  the  mischief  die  a  natural  death.  Gentlemen, 
I  return  to  my  rule — use  your  own  natural  voices.  Do 
not  be  monkeys,  but  men  ;  not  parrots,  but  men  of 
originality  in  all  things.  It  is  said  that  the  most  be- 
coming way  for  a  man  to  wear  his  beard  is  that  in  which 
it  grows,  for  both  in  color  and  form  it  will  suit  his  face. 
Your  own  modes  of  speech  will  be  most  in  harmony  with 
your  methods  of  thought  and  your  own  personality. 
The  mimic  is  for  the  playhouse,  the  cultured  man  in  his 
sanctified  i^ersonality  is  for  the  sanctuary.  I  would  re- 
peat this  rule  till  I  wearied  you  if  I  thought  you  would 
forget  it ;  be  natural,  be  natural,  be  natural  evermore. 
An  affectation  of  voice,  or  an  imitation  of  the  manner 
of  Dr.  Silvertongue,  the  eminent  divine,  or  even  of  a 
■?7ell-beloved  tutor  or  president,  will  inevitably  ruin  you. 

*  When  Jo]inson  was  asked  whether  Burke  resembled  Tullius 
Cicero,  "  No,  sir,"  was  the  reply,  "  he  resembled  Edmund  Burke.' 


OS   THE   VOICE.  199 

I  charge  you  throw  awiiy  the  servility  of  imitation  and 
rise  to  the  manliness  of  originality. 

We  are  bound  to  add — endeavor  to  educate  your  voice. 
G  I'udge  no  pains  or  labor  in  achieving  this,  for  as  it  has 
been  well  observed,  "  However  prodigious  may  be  tiie 
gifts  of  nature  to  her  elect,  they  can  only  be  developed 
and  brought  to  their  extreme  perfection  by  labor  and 
study."  Think  of  Michael  Angelo  working  for  a  week 
without  taking  off  his  clothes,  and  Uandcl  hollowing 
out  every  key  of  his  harpsichord,  like  a  spoon,  by  inces- 
sant practice.  Gentlemen,  after  this,  never  talk  of  diffi- 
culty or  weariness.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  sec  the 
ntihty  of  Demosthenes'  method  of  speaking  with  stones 
in  his  moutli,  but  any  one  can  perceive  the  useful- 
ness of  his  pleading  with  the  boisterous  billows,  that  he 
might  know  how  to  command  a  hearing  amidst  the  u])- 
roarious  assemblies  of  his  countrymen  ;  and  in  his  speak- 
ing as  he  ran  up  hill  that  his  lungs  might  gather  force 
from  laborious  use  the  reason  is  as  obvious  as  the  self- 
denial  is  commendable.  We  are  bound  to  use  every  pos- 
sible means  to  perfect  the  voice  by  which  we  are  to  tell 
forth  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God.  Take  great 
care  of  the  consonants,  enunciate  every  one  of  them 
clearly  ;  they  are  the  features  and  expression  of  the 
Avords.  Practise  indefatigably  till  you  give  every  one  of 
the  consonants  its  due  ;  the  vowels  have  a  voice  of  their 
own,  and  therefore  they  can  speak  for  themselves.  In 
all  other  matters  exercise  a  rigid  discipline  until  you 
have  mastered  your  voice,  and  have  it  in  hand  like  a 
well-trained  steed.  Gentlemen  with  narrow  chests  are 
advised  to  use  the  dumb-bells  every  morning,  or  better 
still,  those  clubs  which  the  College  has  provided  for  3'ou. 
You  need  broad  chests,  and  must  do  your  best  to  get 
them.     Do  not  speak  with  your  hands  ?'n  your  waistcoat 


200  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

pockets  so  as  to  contract  yoiii-  lungs,  hnt  throw  the 
shoulders  back,  as  public  singers  do.  Do  not  lean  over 
a  desk  while  speaking,  and  never  hold  the  head  down 
on  the  breast  while  preaching.  Upward  ratlier  than 
downward  let  the  body  bend.  Off  with  all  tight  cravats 
and  button-up  waistcoats  ;  leave  room  for  the  full  play 
of  the  bellows  and  the  pipes.  Observe  the  statues  of 
the  Roman  or  Greek  orators,  look  at  Raphael's  picture 
of  Paul,  and  without  affectation,  fall  naturally  into  the 
graceful  and  appropriate  attitudes  there  depicted,  for 
these  are  best  for  the  voice.  Get  a  friend  to  tell  you 
your  faults,  or  better  still,  welcome  an  enemy  who  will 
watch  you  keenly  and  sting  you  savagely.  What  a  Mess- 
ing such  an  irritating  critic  will  be  to  a  wise  man,  what 
an  intolerable  nuisance  to  a  fool  !  Correct  yourself 
diligently  and  frecpiently,  or  you  will  fall  into  errors  un- 
awares ;  false  tones  will  grow,  and  slovenly  habits  will 
form  insensibly  :  therefore  criticise  yourself  Avith  un- 
ceasing care.  Think  nothing  little  by  which  you  may 
be  even  a  little  more  usefuL  But,  gentlemen,  never 
degenerate  in  this  business  into  pulpit  fops,  who  think 
gesture  and  voice  to  be  everything.  I  am  sick  at  heart 
when  I  hear  of  men  taking  a  whole  week  to  get  up  a 
sermon,  much  of  the  getting  up  consisting  in  repeating 
their  precious  productions  before  a  glass  !  Alas  !  for 
this  age,  if  graceless  hearts  are  to  be  forgiven  for  the 
sake  of  graceful  manners.  Give  us  all  the  vulgarities  of 
the  wildest  back-woods'  itinerant  rathei'  than  the  per- 
fumed prettinesses  of  effeminate  gentility.  I  would  no 
more  advise  you  to  be  fastidious  with  your  voices  than  I 
would  recommend  you  to  imitate  Rowland  Hill's  j\lr. 
Taplash  with  his  diamond  ring,  his  richly-scented 
pocket  handkercliicf,  and  his  eye-glass.  Exquisites  are 
out  of  place  in  the  pulpit,  they  should  be  set  up  in  a 


ox  THE   VOICE.  201 

tailoi-'s  window,  witliii  ticket,  ''  Tltis  style  complete,  in- 
eluding  MSS.,  £10  10s." 

Perhaps  here  may  be  tlie  place  to  observe,  tliat  it 
were  well  if  all  parents  were  more  attentive  to  the  teclh 
of  their  children,  since  faulty  teeth  may  cause  serious 
damage  to  a  speaker.  There  are  men,  wliosc  articula- 
tion is  faulty,  who  should  at  once  consult  the  dentist ;  I 
mean,  of  course,  a  thoroughly  scientific  and  experienced 
one  ;  for  a  few  false  teeth  or  some  other  simple  arrange- 
ment would  be  a  permanent  blessing  to  them.  My  own 
dentist  very  sensibly  remarks  in  his  circular,  "When  a 
portion  or  the  whole  of  the  teeth  are  lost,  a  contraction 
of  the  muscles  of  the  face  and  throat  follows,  the  other 
organs  of  the  voice  which  have  been  accustomed  to  teeth 
are  impaired,  and  put  out  of  their  common  play,  pro- 
ducing a  break,  languor,  or  depression,  as  in  a  musical 
instrument  which  is  deficient  in  a  note.  It  is  vain  to 
expect  perfect  symphony,  and  proportional  and  consis- 
tent accent  on  the  key,  tone,  and  pitch  of  the  voice, 
with  deficiencies  in  its  organs,  and  of  course  the  articu- 
lation becomes  defective  ;  such  defect  adds  much  to  the 
labor  of  speaking,  to  say  the  least,  and  in  most  cases 
lisping,  a  too  hasty  or  sudden  drop,  or  a  faint  delivery, 
is  the  result ;  from  more  serious  deficiencies  a  mumbling 
and  clattering  is  almost  sure  to  follow."  "Where  this  is 
the  mischief,  and  the  cure  is  within  reach,  we  are  bound 
for  our  works'  sake  to  avail  ourselves  of  it.  Teeth  may 
seem  unimportant,  but  be  it  remembered  that  nothing  is 
little  in  so  great  a  calling  as  ours.  I  shall  in  succeeding 
remarks  mention  even  smaller  matters,  but  it  is  with  the 
deep  impression  that  hints  ui)on  insignificant  things 
may  be  of  unknown  value  saving  in  you  from  scrioua  neg- 
lects or  gross  errors. 

Lastly,  I  would  say  with  regard  to  your  throats — 
9* 


202  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDEXTS. 

take  care  of  them.  Take  care  always  to  clear  them  well 
"vvlicii  yoii  are  about  to  speak,  but  do  not  be  constantly 
cleai'ing  tlicm  while  you  are  preaching.  A  very  csteeniiod 
brother  of  my  acquaintance  always  talks  in  this  way — 
"  My  dear  friends — hem — hem — this  is  a  most — hem — ini- 
portant  subject  Avhich  I  have  noAV — hem — hem — to  bring 
before  you,  and — hem — hem — I  have  to  call  upon  you  to 
give  me — hem — hem — your  most  serious — hem — atten- 
tion."* Avoid  this  most  zealously.  Others,  from  want 
of  clearing  the  throat,  talk  as  if  they  were  choked  up, 
and  were  just  about  to  expectorate  ;  it  were  far  better  to 
do  so  at  once  tlian  to  sicken  tlie  hearer  by  repeated 
unpleasant  sounds.  Snuffling  and  sniffing  are  excusable 
enough  when  a  man  has  a  cold,  but  they  are  extremely 
unpleasant,  and  when  they  become  habitual,  they  ought 
to  be  indicted  under  the  "  Nuisances  Act."  Pray  excuse 
me,  it  may  appear  vulgar  to  mention  such  things,  but 
your  attention  to  the  plain  and  free  observations  made 
in  this  lecture  room  may  save  many  remarks  at  your 
exjiense  hereafter. 

When  you  have  done  preaching,  take  care  of  your 
tliroat  by  never  wrajyping  it  up  tightly.  From  personal 
experience  I  venture  with  some  diffidence  to  give  tliis 
piece  of  advice.  If  any  of  you  possess  delightfully  warm 
woollen  comforters,  with  which  there  may  be  associated 
the  most  tender  remembrances  of  mother  or  sister,  treas- 
ure them — treasure  them  in  the  bottom  of  your  trunk, 
but  do  not  expose  them  to  any  vulgar  use  by  Avrapping 

*  A  young  preacher,  desirous  of  improving  liis  style,  wrote  to 
Jacob  Oruber  for  advice.  He  had  contracted  the  habit  of  prolong- 
ing his  words,  especially  when  under  excitement.  The  old  gen- 
tleman sent  him  the  following  laconic  reply.  "  Dear — ah !  brother 
^ah  ! — When — ah  yon— ah  go — all  to — ah  preach — ah,  take — ah 
care — ah  you — ah  do  not — ah  say — ah  ah — ah  I — Yours — ah,  Jacob 

—AH   GkUBER — AH." 


ox   THE   VOICE.  203 

them  round  your  necks.  If  any  brother  wants  to  die  of 
influenza  let  liini  wear  a  warm  scarf  round  his  neck,  and 
then  one  of  tliese  iiights  lie  will  forget  it,  and  catch  such 
a  cold  as  will  last  him  the  rest  of  his  natural  life.  You 
seldom  see  a  sailor  wrap  his  neck  up.  No,  he  alwaj's 
keeps  it  bare  and  exposed,  and  has  a  turn-down  collar, 
and  )f  he  has  a  tie  at  all,  it  is  but  a  small  one  loosely  tied, 
so  tliat  the  wind  can  blow  all  round  his  neck.  In  this 
philosophy  I  am  a  firm  believer,  having  never  deviated 
from  it  for  these  fourteen  years,  and  having  before  that 
lime  been  frequently  troubled  witli  colds,  but  very  sel- 
dom since.  If  you  feel  that  you  Avant  something  else, 
wh}',  then  grow  your  beards  !  A  habit  most  natural, 
scriptural,  manly,  and  beneficial.  One  of  our  brethren, 
now  present,  has  for  years  found  this  of  great  service. 
He  was  compelled  to  leave  England  on  account  of  the 
loss  of  his  voice,  but  he  has  become  as  strong  as  Samson 
now  that  his  locks  are  unshorn.  If  your  throats  become 
affected,  consult  a  good  physician,  or  if  you  cannot  do 
this,  give  what  attention  you  please  to  the  following 
hint.  Never  purchase  "  Marsh-mallow  Kock,"  "  Cough- 
no-more  Lozenges,"  '' Pulmonic  Wafers,"  Horehound, 
Ipecacuanha,  or  any  of  the  ten  thousand  emollient  com- 
pounds. They  may  serve  your  turn  for  a  time  by  re- 
moving present  uneasiness,  but  they  ruin  the  thro;it  by 
their  laxative  qualities.  If  you  wish  to  improve  your 
throat  take  a  good  share  of  pepper — good  Cayenne  jiep- 
per,  and  other  astringent  substances,  as  much  as  your 
stomach  can  bear.  Do  not  go  beyond  that,  because  you 
must  recollect  that  you  have  to  take  care  of  your  stomach 
as  well  as  your  throat,  and  if  the  digesting  apparatus  bo 
out  of  order,  nothing  can  be  right.  Common  sense 
teaches  you  that  astringents  must  be  useful.  Did  you 
ever  hear  of  a  tanner  making  a  piece  of  hide  into  leather 


204  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDEiS"TS. 

by  laying  it  to  soak  in  sngar  ?  Neither  would  tolii,  ipfl- 
cacnanha,  or  treacle  serve  liis  purpose,  but  the  veil 
reverse  ;  if  he  wants  to  harden  and  strengthen  tlie  skin. 
ho  jilaces  it  in  a  solution  of  oak-bark,  or  some  astringent 
substance  which  draws  the  material  together  and 
strengthens  it.  When  I  began  to  preach  at  Exeter  Hall 
my  voice  was  weak  for  such  a  place — as  weak  as  the 
usual  run  of  voices,  and  it  had  frequently  failed  me 
altogether  in  street  preaching,  but  in  Exeter  Hall  (which 
is  an  unusually  difficult  place  to  preach  in,  from  its  ex- 
cessive width  in  proportion  to  its  length),  I  always  had  a 
little  glass  of  Chili  vinegar  and  water  just  in  front  of 
me,  a  draught  of  which  appeared  to  give  a  fresh  force 
to  the  throat  whenever  it  grew  weary  and  the  voice 
appeared  likely  to  break  down.  When  my  throat  be- 
comes a  little  relaxed  I  usually  ask  the  cook  to  prepare 
me  a  basin  of  beef-tea,  as  strong  with  jiepper  as  can  be 
borne,  and  hitherto  this  has  been  a  sovereign  remedy. 
However,  as  I  am  not  qualified  to  practise  in  medicine, 
you  will  probably  pay  no  more  attention  to  me  in  medi- 
cal matters  tlian  to  any  other  quack.  My  belief  is  that 
half  the  difficulties  connected  with  the  voice  in  our 
early  days  will  vanish  as  we  advance  in  years,  and  find 
in  VTse  a  second  nature.  I  would  encourage  the  truly 
earnest  to  jiersevere  ;  if  they  feel  the  Word  of  the  Lord 
like  fire  in  their  bones,  even  stammering  may  be  over- 
come, and  fear,  with  all  its  paralyzing  results,  may  be 
banished.  Take  heart,  young  brother,  persevere,  and 
God,  and  nature,  and  practice,  will  help  you. 

I  shall  not  detain  yoit  longer,  but  express  the  hope 
that  your  chest,  lungs,  windpipe,  larynx,  and  all  your 
vocal  oi'gans  may  last  you  till  you  have  nothing  more 
to  say. 


LECTURE    IX. 


ATTENTION ! 


Our  subject  is  one  whicli  I  find  scarcely  CTcr  noticed 
in  any  books  upon  liomiletics — a  very  curious  fact,  for  it 
is  a  most  important  matter,  and  worthy  of  more  tlian  one 
chapter.  I  suppose  the  homiletical  savans  consider  that 
their  entire  volumes  are  seasoned  with  this  subject,  and 
that  they  need  not  give  it  to  us  in  lumps,  because,  like 
sugar  in  tea,  it  flavors  the  whole.    That  overlooked  topic 

is,      How   TO    OBTAIN   AND    llETAIN   THE   ATTENTION    OF 

OUR  HEARERS.  Their  attention  must  be  gained,  or 
nothing  can  be  done  with  them:  and  it  must  be  retained, 
or  we  may  go  on  word-spinning,  but  no  good  will  come 
of  it. 

Over  the  head  of  military  announcements  our  Eng- 
lish ofiicers  always  place  the  word  "Attention!"  in 
large  capitals,  and  Ave  need  some  sucli  word  over  ail  our 
sermons.  We  need  the  earnest,  candid,  wakeful,  contin- 
ued attention  of  all  those  who  are  in  the  congregation. 
If  men's  minds  are  wandering  far  away  they  cannot  re- 
ceive the  truth,  and  it  is  much  the  same  if  they  are 
inactive.  Sin  cannot  be  taken  out  of  men,  as  Eve  was 
taken  out  of  the  side  of  Adam,  while  they  are  fast  asleep. 
They  must  be  awake,  understanding  what  we  are  saying, 
and  feeling  its  force,  or  else  Ave  may  as  well  go  to 
sleep  too.  There  are  preachers  who  care  very  little 
whether  they  are  attended  to  or  not ;  so  long  as  tliey 
can  hold  on  through  the  allotted  time  it  is  of  very  small 


206  LECTUllES   TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

importance  to  tliem  whether  their  people  hear  for  eter- 
nit}^,  or  hear  in  vain:  the  sooner  such  ministers  sleep  in 
the  churchyard  and  preach  by  the  Terse  on  their  grave- 
stones the  better.  Some  brethren  speak  uj)  the  venti- 
lator, as  if  they  sought  the  attention  of  the  angels;  and 
others  look  down  upon  their  book  as  if  they  were  ab 
Borbed  in  thought,  or  had  themselves  for  an  audience,  and 
felt  much  honored  thereby.  Why  do  not  such  brethren 
preach  on  the  prairie  and  edify  the  stars?  If  their 
preaching  has  no  reference  to  their  hearers  they  might 
do  so  Avith  evident  propriety  ;  if  a  sermon  be  a  soliloquy, 
the  more  lonely  the  performer  the  better.  To  a  rational 
preacher  (and  all  are  not  rational)  it  must  seem  essential 
to  interest  all  his  audience,  from  the  eldest  to  the  young- 
est. AVe  ought  not  to  make  even  children  inattentive. 
"Make  them  inattentive,"  say  you,  "who  does  that?" 
I  say  that  most  preachers  do;  and  when  children  are  not 
quiet  in  a  meeting  it  is  often  as  much  our  fault  as  theirs. 
Can  you  not  put  in  a  little  story  or  joarable  on  purpose 
for  the  little  ones?  Can  you  not  catch  the  eye  of  the 
boy  in  the  gallery,  and  the  little  girl  downstairs,  who 
have  begun  to  fidget,  and  smile  them  into  order  ?  I 
often  talk  Avith  my  eyes  to  the  orphan  boys  at  the  foot 
of  my  pulpit.  "We  want  all  eyes  fixed  upon  us  and  all 
ears  open  to  us.  To  me  it  is  an  annoyance  if  even  a 
blind  man  does  not  look  at  me  with  his  face.  If  I  see 
anybody  turning  round,  Avliispering,  nodding,  or  looking 
at  his  Avatch,  I  judge  that  I  am  not  up  to  the  mark,  and 
must  by  some  means  Avin  these  minds.  Very  seldom 
have  I  to  complain,  and  Avhen  I  do,  my  general  plan  is 
to  complain  of  myself,  and  OAvn  that  I  have  no  right  to 
attention  unless  I  knoAv  how  to  command  it. 

Now,  there  are  some  congregations  Avhose  attention 
you  do  not  readily  gain,  they  do  not  care  to  be  interested. 


ATTENTIOIf  I  207 

It  is  useless  to  scold  them ;  that  will  be  like  throwing  a 
bush  at  a  bird  to  catch  it.  The  fact  is,  that  in  most 
cases  there  is  another  person  whom  you  should  scold, 
and  that  is  yourself.  It  may  be  their  duty  to  attend, 
but  it  is  far  more  your  duty  to  make  them  do  so.  You 
must  attract  the  fish  to  your  hook,  and  if  they  do  not 
come  you  should  blame  the  fisherman  and  not  the  fish. 
Comi)cl  them  to  stand  still  awhile  and  hear  what  God 
the  Lord  would  speak  to  their  souls.  The  minister 
who  recommended  the  old  lady  to  take  snuif  in  order  to 
keep  from  dozing  was  very  properly  rebuked  by  her 
reply, — that  if  he  would  put  more  snulf  into  the  sermon 
she  would  be  awake  enough.  TVe  must  plentifully  cast 
snuff  into  the  sermon,  or  something  yet  more  awakening. 
Eecollect  that  to  some  of  our  people  it  is  not  so  easy  to 
be  attentive ;  many  of  them  are  not  interested  in  the 
matter,  and  they  have  felt  not  enough  of  any  gracious 
operation  on  their  hearts  to  make  them  confess  that  tlie 
gospel  is  of  any  special  value  to  them.  Concerning  the 
Saviour  whom  you  preach  you  may  say  to  them, — • 

"  Is  it  nothing  to  you,  all  ye  that  pass  by. 
Is  it  nothing  to  you  that  Jesus  should  die  ?  " 

Many  of  them  have  through  the  week  been  borne  down 
by  the  press  of  business  cares.  They  ought  to  roll  their 
burden  on  the  Lord  ;  but  do  you  always  do  so  ?  Do  tjou 
always  find  it  easy  to  escajjc  from  anxieties  ?  Are  yon 
able  to  forget  the  sick  Avife  and  the  ailing  children  at 
home  ?  There  is  no  doubt  whatever  that  many  come 
into  the  house  of  God  loaded  heavily  with  the  thoughts 
of  their  daily  avocations.  The  farmer  recollects  the  fields 
that  are  to  be  ploughed  or  to  be  sown  ;  it  is  a  wet  Sun- 
day, and  he  is  reflecting  upon  the  yellow  look  of  the 
young  wheats.     The  merchant  sees  that  dishonored  bill 


208  LECTURES  TO   3IT  STUDENTS. 

fluttering  before  his  eyes,  and  the  tradesman  counts 
over  his  bad  debts.  I  should  not  wonder  if  the  colo)-a 
of  the  hidies'  ribbons  and  the  creak  of  the  gentlemen's 
boots  disturl)  many.  There  are  troublesome  flies  about, 
you  know  :  Beelzebub,  the  god  of  flies,  takes  care  tliat 
wherever  there  is  a  gospel  feast  the  guests  should  be 
worried  with  petty  annoyances.  Often  mental  mosquitoes 
sting  the  man  while  you  are  preaching  to  him,  and  he  is 
thinking  more  of  trifling  distractions  than  of  your  dis- 
course ;  is  it  so  very  wonderful  that  he  does  ?  You  must 
drive  the  mosquitoes  away,  and  secure  your  people's  un- 
distracted  thoughts,  turning  them  out  of  the  channel  in 
which  they  have  been  running  six  days  into  one  suitable 
for  the  Sabbath.  You  must  have  sufficient  leverage  in 
your  discourse  and  its  subject  to  lift  them  right  up  from 
the  earth  to  which  they  cleave,  and  to  elevate  them  a 
little  nearer  heaven. 

Frequently  it  is  v&ri)  difficult  for  congregations  to 
attend,  because  of  tlie  place  and  the  at'mos2)here.  For 
instance,  if  the  place  is  like  this  room  at  present,  sealed 
against  the  pure  air,  with  every  window  closed,  they  have 
enough  to  do  to  breathe,  and  cannot  tliink  of  anything 
else  :  when  people  have  inhaled  over  and  over  again  the 
air  which  has  been  in  other  people's  lungs,  the  whole 
machinery  of  life  gets  out  of  gear,  and  they  are  more 
likely  to  feel  an  aching  head  than  a  broken  heart.  The 
next  best  thing  to  the  grace  of  God  for  a  preacher  is 
oxygen.  Pi-ay  that  the  windows  of  heaven  maybe  opened, 
but  begin  by  opening  the  windows  of  your  meeting- 
house, look  at  many  of  our  couutry-i^laces,  and  I  ain 
afraid  our  city  chapels  too,  and  you  will  find  that  the 
v/indows  are  not  made  to  open.  The  modern  barbarous 
style  of  building  gives  us  no  more  ceiling  than  a  barn, 
and  no  more   openings  for  ventilation  than  would  be 


ATTENTION  !  209 

found  in  an  oriental  dungeon,  where  the  tyrant  expected 
his  prisoner  to  die  by  inches.  What  would  we  think  of 
a  liouse  Avhere  the  Avindows  could  not  be  opened  ? 
Would  any  of  you  hire  such  a  dwelling  ?  Yet  Gothic 
architecture  and  silly  pride  make  many  persons  renounce 
the  wholesome  sash  window  for  little  holes  in  the  ceiliug, 
or  bird  traps  in  the  windows,  and  so  places  are  made  far 
less  comfortable  than  Nebuchadnezzar's  furnace  was  to 
Shadrach,  Mesliach,  and  Abednego.  Provided  all  such 
chapels  were  properly  insured,  I  could  not  pray  for 
their  preservation  from  lire.  Even  where  the  windows 
will  open  they  are  often  kept  closed  by  the  montii  to- 
gether, and  from  Sunday  to  Sunday  the  impure  atmos- 
phere is  unchanged.  This  ought  not  to  be  endured.  I 
know  some  people  do  not  notice  such  things,  and  I  have 
heard  it  remarked  that  foxes  are  not  killed  by  the  stench 
of  their  own  holes ;  but  I  am  not  a  fox,  and  bad  air 
makes  me  dull,  and  my  hearers  dull  too.  A  gust  of 
fresh  air  through  the  building  might  be  to  the  people 
the  next  best  thing  to  the  gospel  itself,  at  least  it  would 
put  them  into  a  fit  frame  of  mind  to  receive  the  truth. 
Take  trouble  on  week  days  to  remove  the  hindrance 
arising  from  foul  air.  In  my  former  chapel,  in  Park 
street,  I  mentioned  to  my  deacons  several  times  my 
opinion  that  the  upper  panes  of  the  iron-framed 
windows  had  better  be  taken  out,  as  the  windows  were 
not  made  to  open.  I  mentioned  this  several  times,  and 
]iothing  came  of  it ;  but  it  providentally  happened  one 
Monday  that  somebody  removed  most  of  those  panes  in 
a  masterly  manner,  almost  as  well  as  if  they  had  been 
taken  out  by  a  glazier.  There  was  considerable  con- 
Bternation,  and  much  conjecture  as  to  who  had  com- 
mitted the  crime,  and  I  proposed  that  a  reward  of  five 
pounds  should  be  offered  for  the  discovery  of  the  offender, 


210  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

wlio  wlion  found  slionld  receive  the  amount  as  a  present. 
1'lie  reward  was  not  forthcoming,  and  therefore  I  liave 
not  felt  it  to  be  my  duty  to  inform  against  the  individual. 
I  trust  none  of  you  will  suspect  me,  for  if  you  do  I  shall 
liave  to  confess  that  I  have  walked  with  the  stick  which 
let  the  oxygen  into  that  stifling  structure. 

Sometimes  ike  manners  of  our  peoiiile  are  inimical  to 
attention  j  they  are  not  in  the  habit  of  attending  ;  they 
attend  the  chapel  but  do  not  attend  to  the  preacher. 
They  are  accustomed  to  look  round  at  every  one  who 
enters  the  place,  and  they  come  in  at  all  times,  sometimes 
with  much  stamping,  squeaking  of  boots,  and  banging 
of  doors.  I  was  preaching  once  to  a  people  who  contin- 
ually looked  around,  and  I  adopted  the  expedient  of 
saying,  "  Now,  friends,  as  it  is  so  very  interesting  to  you 
to  know  who  comes  in,  and  it  disturbs  me  so  very  much 
for  you  to  look  around,  I  will,  if  you  like,  describe  each 
one  as  he  comes  in,  so  that  you  may  sit  and  look  at  me, 
and  keep  up  at  least  a  show  of  decency."  I  described 
one  gentleman  who  came  in,  who  happened  to  be  a 
friend  whom  I  could  depict  Avithout  offence,  as  "  a  very 
respectable  gentleman  Avho  had  just  taken  his  hat  off," 
and  so  on  ;  and  after  that  one  attemjit  I  found  it  was  not 
necessary  to  describe  any  more,  because  they  felt  shocked 
at  what  I  was  doing,  and  I  assured  them  that  I  was 
much  more  shocked  that  they  should  render  it  necessary 
for  me  to  reduce  their  conduct  to  such  an  absurdit3^  It 
cured  them  for  the  time  being,  and  I  hope  for  ever, 
much  to  their  pastor's  joy. 

We  will  now  suppose  that  this  is  set  right.  You 
have  let  the  foul  air  cut  af  the  place,  and  reformed  the 
manners  of  the  people.  What  next  ?  In  order  to  get 
attention,  the  first  golden  rule  is,  alivays  say  soviething 
iL'orth  hearing.     Most  persons  possess  an  instinct  whicn 


ATTENTION  !  211 

leads  them  to  desire  to  hear  a  good  thing.  They  have 
a  simihir  instinct,  also,  wliicli  you  had  bettor  tiike  note 
of,  namely,  that  which  prevents  their  seeing  the  good  of 
attentively  listening  to  mere  words.  It  is  not  a  severe 
criticism  to  say  that  there  are  ministers  whose  Avorda 
stand  in  a  very  large  jiroportion  to  their  thoughts.  In 
fcict,  their  words  hide  their  thoughts,  if  they  have  any. 
They  Y>onY  out  heaps  of  chaff,  and,  perhaps,  tliere  may 
be  somewhere  or  other  an  oat  or  two,  but  it  would  bo 
hard  to  say  where.  Congregations  will  not  long  attend  to 
words,  words,  words,  words,  and  nothing  else.  Amongst 
the  commandments  I  am  not  aware  of  one  which  runs 
thus  :  "  Thou  shalt  not  be  verbose,"  but  it  may  be  com- 
prehended under  the  command,  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal"  ; 
for  it  is  a  fraud  upon  your  hearers  to  give  them  woixls 
instead  of  spiritual  food.  "  In  the  multitude  of  words 
there  wanteth  not  sin,"  even  in  the  best  preacher.  Give 
your  hearers  something  which  they  can  treasure  up  and 
remember  ;  something  likely  to  be  useful  to  them,  the 
best  matter  from  the  l^est  of  places,  solid  doctrine  from 
the  divine  "Word.  Give  them  manna  fresh  from  the 
skies  ;  not  the  same  thing  over  and  over  again,  in  the 
same  form  ad  nauseam,  like  workhouse  bread  cut  into 
the  same  shape  all  the  year  round.  Give  them  some- 
thing striking,  something  that  a  man  might  get  up  in 
the  middle  of  the  night  to  hear,  and  which  is  worth  his 
walking  fifty  miles  to  listen  to.  You  are  quite  capable 
of  doing  that.  Bo  it,  brethren.  Do  it  continually,  and 
you  will  have  all  the  attention  you  can  desire. 

Let  the  (/ood  matter  zvhich  you  give  tliem  le  very  dearly 
arranged.  There  is  a  great  deal  in  that.  It  is  possible 
to  heap  up  a  vast  mass  of  good  things  all  in  a  muddle. 
Ever  since  the  day  T  was  sent  to  shop  Avith  a  basket,  and 
purchased  a  pound  of  tea,  a  quarter- of -a-pound  of  mus- 


312  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

tard,  and  three  pounds  of  rice^  and  on  my  way  home  savf 
a  pack  of  hounds  and  felt  it  necessary  to  follow  tlieni 
over  hedge  and  ditch  (as  I  always  did  when  I  was  a  boy), 
f  and  found  when  I  reached  home  that  all  the  goods  were 
amalgamated — tea,  mustard,  and  rice — into  one  awful 
mess,  I  have  understood  the  necessity  of  packing  up  my 
subjects  in  good  stout  parcels,  bound  round  with  the 
thread  of  my  discourse  ;  and  this  makes  me  keep  to 
firstly,  secondly,  and  thirdly,  however  unfashionable  that 
method  may  now  be.  People  will  not  drink  your  mus- 
tardy  tea,  nor  will  they  enjoy  muddled  up  sermons,  in 
which  you  cannot  tell  head  from  tail,  because  they  have 
neither,  but  are  like  Mr.  Bright's  Skye  terrier,  whose 
head  and  tail  were  both  alike.  Put  the  truth  before 
men  in  a  logical,  orderly  manner,  so  that  they  can  easily 
remember  it,  and  they  will  the  more  readily  receive  it. 

Be  sure,  moreover,  to  speak  plainly ;  because,  how- 
ever excellent  your  matter,  if  a  man  does  not  compre- 
hend it,  it  can  be  of  no  use  to  him  ;  you  might  as  well 
have  spoken  to  him  in  the  language  of  Kamtchatka  as  in 
your  own  tongue,  if  you  use  phrases  that  are  quite  out 
his  line,  and  modes  of  expression  which  are  not  suitable 
to  his  mind.  Go  up  to  his  level  if  he  is  a  poor  man  ;  go 
down  to  his  understanding  if  he  is  an  educated  person. 
You  smile  at  my  contorting  the  terms  in  that  manner, 
but  I  think  there  is  more  going  up  in  being  plain  to  the 
illiterate,  than  there  is  in  being  refined  for  the  polite  ; 
at  any  rate,  it  is  the  more  difficult  of  the  two,  and  mosc 
like  the  Saviour's  mode  of  speech.  It  is  wise  to  walk  in 
a  path  where  your  auditors  can  accompany  you,  and  not 
to  mount  the  high  horse  and  ride  over  their  heads. 
Our  Lord  and  Master  was  the  King  of  preachers,  and 
he  never  was  above  anybody's  comprehension,  excepS 
BO  far  as  the  grandeur  and  glory  of  his  matter  were  con- 


ATTENTIOX  !  213 

cerned  ;  liis  words  and  utterances  were  such  that  he 
spake  like  ''the  holy  child  Jesus."  Let  your  hearts 
indite  a  good  matter,  clearly  arranged  and  plainly  put, 
ai:d  you  are  pretty  sure  to  gain  the  ear,  and  so  the  heart. 

Attend  also  to  your  onanner  of  address  ;  aim  in  that 
at  the  promotion  of  attention.  And  here  I  should  say, 
as  a  rule  do  not  read  your  sermons.  There  have  been  a 
few  readers  who  have  exercised  great  power,  as,  for 
instance,  Dr.  Chalmers,  who  could  not  have  had  a  more 
attentive  audience  had  he  been  extemporizing  ;  but  then 
I  do  not  suppose  that  we  are  equal  to  Dr.  Chalmers  : 
men  of  suoli  eminence  may  read  if  they  prefer  it,  but  for 
us  there  is  ''a  more  excellent  way."  The  best  reading  I 
have  ever  heard  has  tasted  of  paper,  and  has  stuck  in  my 
throat.  I  have  not  relished  it,  for  my  digestion  is  not 
good  enough  to  dissolve  foolscap.  It  is  better  to  do 
without  the  manuscript,  even  if  you  are  driven  to  recite. 
It  is  best  of  all  if  you  need  neither  to  recite  nor  to  read. 
If  you  must  read,  mind  that  you  do  it  to  perfection. 
Be  the  very  the  best  of  readers,  and  you  had  need  to  be 
if  you  would  secure  attention. 

Here  let  me  say,  (/'  yoii  luoiild  he  listened  to,  do  not 
extemporize  in  the  empliatic  sense,  for  that  is  as  bad  as 
reading,  or  perhaps  worse,  unless  the  manuscript  was 
written  extemporaneously ;  I  mean  without  previous 
study.  Do  not  go  into  the  pulpit  and  say  the  first  thing 
that  comes  to  hand,  for  tbe  uppermost  thing  witli  most 
men  is  mere  froth.  Your  people  need  discourses  which 
have  been  prayed  over  and  laborously  prepared.  People 
do  not  want  raw  food,  it  must  be  cooked  and  made  ready 
for  them.  We  must  give  out  of  our  very  souls,  in  the 
words  which  naturally  suggest  themselves,  the  matter 
which  has  been  as  thoroughly  j^reparcd  by  us  as  it  possi- 
bly could  have  been  by  a  sermon-writer  ;  indeed,  it  should 


214  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDEKTS. 

be  even  better  prepared,  if  we  would  speak  well.  The 
best  method  is,  in  my  judgment,  that  in  which  the  man 
does  not  extemporize  tlie  matter,  but  extemporizes  the 
words  ;  the  language  comes  to  him  at  the  moment,  but 
the  theme  has  been  well  thought  out,  and  like  a  master 
in  Israel  he  speaks  of  that  which  he  knows,  and  testifies 
of  what  he  has  seen. 

In  order  to  get  attention,  make  your  manner  as  pleas- 
ing as  it  can  possibly  be.  Do  not,  for  instance,  indulge 
in  monotones.  ^^lry  your  voice  continually.  Vary 
your  speed  as  well — dash  as  rapidly  as  a  lightning  flash, 
and  anon,  travel  forward  in  quiet  majesty.  Shift  your 
accent,  move  your  emphasis,  and  avoid  sing-song.  Vary 
the  tone  ;  use  the  bass  sometimes,  and  let  the  thunders 
roll  within  ;  at  other  times  speak  as  you  ought  to  do 
generally — from  the  lips,  and  let  your  sj)eech  be  conver- 
sational. Anything  for  a  change.  Human  nature  craves 
for  variety,  and  God  grants  it  in  nature,  j)rovidence  and 
grace  ;  let  us  have  it  in  sermons  also.  I  shall  not, 
however,  dwell  much  ujjon  this,  because  preachers  have 
been  known  to  arouse  and  sustain  attention  by  their 
matter  alone,  when  their  mode  of  speech  has  been  very 
imperfect.  If  Richard  Sibbes,  the  Puritan,  were  here 
this  afternoon,  I  would  guarantee  him  fixed  attention  to 
anything  that  he  had  to  say,  and  yet  he  stammered 
dreadfully.  One  of  his  contemporaries  says  he  Sid- 
^lated,  he  lisped  and  hissed  so  much.  We  need  not 
look  far  for  instances  in  modern  pulpits,  for  there  are 
too  many  of  them  ;  but  we  may  remember  that  Moses 
Avas  slow  of  speech,  and  yet  every  ear  was  attent  to 
his  words  :  probably  Paul  also  labored  under  a  similar 
infirmity,  for  his  speech  Avas  said  to  be  contemptible,  of 
this,  however,  we  are  not  sure,  for  it  was  only  the  criti- 
cism of  his  enemies.     Paul's  power  in  the  churches  Avas 


ATTENTION  1  215 

very  great,  and  yet  lie  was  not  always  able  to  maintain 
attention  when  his  sermon  was  long,  for  at  least  one 
hearer  went  to  sleep  under  him  with  serious  result.  Man- 
ner is  not  everything.  Still,  if  you  have  gathered  good 
matter,  it  is  a  pity  to  convey  it  meanly  ;  a  king  should 
not  ride  in  a  dust-cart ;  the  glorious  doctrines  of  grace 
should  not  be  slovenly  delivered.  Eight  royal  truths 
should  ride  in  a  chariot  of  gold.  Bring  forth  the 
noblest  of  your  milk-white  steeds,  and  let  the  music 
sound  forth  melodiously  from  the  silver  trumpets,  as 
truth  rides  through  the  streets.  If  people  do  not  attend, 
do  not  let  them  find  excuses  in  our  faulty  utterance.  If, 
however,  we  cannot  mend  in  this  respect  let  us  be  the 
more  diligent  to  make  up  for  it  by  the  richness  of  our 
matter,  and  on  all  occasions  let  us  do  our  very  best. 

As  a  rule,  do  not  mahe  the  introduction  too  long.  It 
is  always  a  pity  to  build  a  great  porch  to  a  little  house. 
An  excellent  Christian  woman  once  heard  John  Howe, 
and,  as  he  took  up  an  hour  in  his  preface,  her  observa- 
tion was,  that  the  dear  good  man  was  so  long  a  time  in 
laying  the  cloth,  that  she  lost  her  appetite;  she  did  not 
think  there  would  be  any  dinner  after  all.  Spread  your 
table  quickly,  and  have  done  with  the  clatter  of  the 
knives  and  the  plates.  You  may  have  seen  a  certain 
edition  of  Doddridge's  "  Else  and  Progress  of  Eeligion 
in  the  Soul,"  with  an  introductory  essay  by  John  Foster. 
TJie  essay  is  both  bigger  and  better  than  the  book,  and 
deprives  Doddridge  of  the  chance  of  being  read.  Is  not 
this  preposterous  ?  Avoid  this  error  in  your  own  pro- 
ductions. I  prefer  to  make  the  introduction  of  my  ser- 
mon very  like  that  of  the  town-crier,  who  rings  his  bell 
and  cries,  "  Oh,  yes!  Oh,  yes!  This  is  to  give  notice," 
merely  to  let  people  know  that  he  has  news  for  them, 
and  wants  them  to  listen.     To  do  that,  the  introduction 


216  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

should  have  something  striking  in  it.  It  is  woil  to  fire 
a  startling  shot  as  the  signal  gun  to  clear  the  decks  for 
action.  Do  not  start  at  the  full  pitch  and  tension  of 
your  mind,  but  yet  in  such  way  that  all  will  be  led  to 
expect  a  good  time.  Do  not  make  your  exordium  a  pom- 
pous introduction  into  nothing,  but  a  step  to  sometliing 
bet  ter  still.     Be  alive  at  the  very  commencement. 

In  preaching,  do  not  repeat  yourselves.  I  used  to 
hear  a  divine  who  had  a  habit,  after  he  had  uttered 
about  a  dozen  sentences,  of  saying,  "As  I  have  already 
observed,"  or,  "I  repeat  what  I  before  remarked."  Well, 
good  soul,  as  there  was  nothing  particular  in  what  he 
had  said,  the  repetition  only  revealed  the  more  clearly 
tbe  nakedness  of  the  land.  If  it  was  very  good,  and  you 
said  it  forcibly,  why  go  over  it  again  ?  And  if  it  was  a 
feeble  affair,  why  exhibit  it  a  second  time  ?  Occasion- 
ally, of  course,  the  repetition  of  a  few  sentences  may  be 
very  telling  ;  anything  may  be  good  occasionally,  and  yet 
be  vei'y  vicious  as  a  habit.  Who  wonders  that  people  do 
not  listen  the  first  time  Avhen  they  know  it  is  all  to  come 
o\er  again  ? 

Yet  further,  do  not  repeat  the  same  idea  over  and 
over  again  in  other  words.  Let  there  be  something  frcsli 
in  each  sentence.  Be  not  for  ever  hammering  away  at 
the  same  nail  :  yours  is  a  large  Bible  ;  permit  the  people 
to  enjoy  its  length  and  breadth.  And,  brethren,  do 
not  think  it  necessaiy  or  important  every  time  you  preach 
to  give  a  complete  summary  of  theology,  or  a  formal 
digest  of  doctrines,  after  the  manner  of  Dr.  Gill — not 
tluit  I  would  discredit  or  speak  a  word  against  Dr.  Gill — 
his  method  is  admirable  for  a  body  of  divinity,  or  a  com- 
mentary, but  not  suitable  for  preaching.  I  knoAV  a 
divine  whose  sermons  whenever  they  are  printed  read 
like  theological  summaries,  more  fitted  for  a  class-room 


ATTEXTIOX  !  217 

than  for  a  pulpit — they  fall  flat  on  the  public  ear.  Our 
hearers  do  not  want  the  bare  bones  of  definition,  but 
meat  and  flavor.  Definitions  and  differences  arc  all  very 
well  ;  but  when  they  are  the  staple  of  a  sermon  they  re- 
mind us  of  the  young  man  whose  discourse  was  made  up 
( f  various  important  distinctions.  Upon  this  perform- 
ance au  old  deacon  observed,  that  there  was  one  dis- 
tinction which  he  had  omitted,  namely,  the  distinction 
between  meat  and  bones.  If  preachers  do  not  make  that 
distinction,  all  their  other  distinctions  will  not  bring  them 
much  distinction. 

In  order  to  maintain  attention,  avoid  heiiuj  too  long. 
An  old  preacher  used  to  say  to  a  young  man  who 
joreached  an  hour,  *'My  dear  friend,  I  do  not  care  what 
else  you  preach  about,  but  I  wish  you  would  always  preach 
ahont  forty  minutes."  We  ought  seldom  to  go  much 
beyond  that — forty  minutes,  or  say,  three-quarters  of  an 
hour.  If  a  fellow  cannot  say  all  he  has  to  say  in  that 
time,  when  will  he  say  it  ?  But  somebody  said  he  liked 
•'  to  do  justice  to  his  subject."  Well,  but  ought  he  not 
to  do  justice  to  his  people,  or,  at  least,  have  a  little  mercy 
upon  them,  and  not  keep  them  too  long  ?  The  subject 
will  not  complain  of  you,  but  the  people  will.  In  some 
country  places,  in  the  afternoon  especially,  the  farmers 
have  to  milk  their  cows,  and  one  farmer  bitterly  com- 
lilained  to  me  about  a  young  man — I  think  from  this 
College — "  Sir,  he  ought  to  have  given  over  at  four 
o'clock,  but  he  kept  on  till  half-past,  and  there  Avcre  all 
my  cows  waiting  to  be  milked  !  How  loould  he  have  liked 
it  if  he  had  been  a  cowV  There  was  a  great  deal  of 
sense  in  that  question.  The  Society  for  the  Prevention 
of  Cruelty  to  Animals  ought  to  have  prosecuted  that 
young  sinner.  How  can  farmers  hear  to  profit  when 
they  have  cows-on-the-brain  ?  The  mother  feels  morally 
10 


219  LECTURES   TO   MY    STUDEXTS. 

certain  during  that  extra  ten  minntes  of  yonr  sermon 
that  the  baby  is  crying,  or  the  fire  is  out,  and  she  can^ 
not  and  will  not  give  her  heart  to  your  ministrations. 
You  are  keeping  her  ten  minutes  longer  than  she  bar- 
gained for,  and  she  looks  upon  it  as  a  piece  of  injustice 
on  your  part.  There  is  a  kind  of  moral  compact  be- 
tween you  and  your  congregation  that  you  will  not  weary 
them  more  than  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  if  you  keep 
them  longer,  it  amounts  to  an  infraction  of  a  treaty  and 
a  piece  of  practical  dishonesty  of  which  you  ought  not 
to  be  guilty.  Brevity  is  a  virtue  within  the  reach  of  all 
of  us ;  do  not  let  us  lose  the  opportunity  of  gaining  the 
credit  which  it  brings.  If  you  ask  me  how  you  may 
shorten  your  sermons,  I  should  say,  skidy  them  defter. 
Spend  more  time  in  the  study  that  yoit  may  need  less  in 
the  pulpit.  We  are  generally  longest  when  we  have  least 
to  say.  A  man  with  a  great  deal  of  well-prepared  matter 
will  probably  not  exceed  forty  minutes ;  when  he  has 
less  to  say  he  will  go  on  for  fifty  minutes,  and  when  he 
has  absolutely  nothing  he  will  need  an  hour  to  say  it  in. 
Attend  to  these  minor  things  and  they  will  help  to  retain 
attention. 

If  you  want  to  have  the  attention  of  your  people — to 
have  it  thoroughly  and  always,  it  can  only  he  accomplished 
hy  their  being  led  hy  the  Spirit  of  God  into  an  elevated 
and  devout  state  of  mind.  If  your  people  are  teachable, 
prayerful,  active,  earnest,  devout,  they  will  come  up  fo 
the  house  of  God  on  purpose  to  get  a  blessing.  They 
will  take  their  seats  prayerfully,  asking  God  to  speak  to 
them  througli  you ;  they  will  remain  on  the  watch  for 
every  word,  and  will  not  weary.  They  will  have  an  ap- 
petite for  the  gospel,  for  they  know  the  sweetness  of  the 
heavenly  manna,  and  they  Avill  be  eager  to  gather  their 
appointed  portions.     No  man  will  ever  have  a  congrega- 


ATTENTION  !  219 

Hon  to  preach  to  which  surpasses  my  own  in  this  respect. 
Indeed,  those  with  whom  the  prcaclier  is  most  at  home 
are  nsually  the  best  hearers  for  him.  It  is  compara- 
tively easy  to  me  to  preach  at  the  Tabernacle  ;  my 
people  come  on  purpose  to  hear  something,  and  their 
expectation  helps  to  fulfil  itself.  If  they  would  hear 
another  preacher  with  the  same  expectancy,  I  believe 
they  would  generally  be  satisfied ;  though  there  are 
exceptions. 

When  the  preacher  first  settles,  he  cannot  expe(}t 
that  his  congregation  will  give  him  that  solemn,  earnest 
attention  which  those  obtain  who  stand  up  like  fathers 
among  their  own  children,  endeared  to  their  people  by  a 
thousand  memories,  and  esteemed  for  age  and  experience. 
Our  whole  life  must  be  such  as  to  add  weight  to  our 
words,  so  that  in  after  years  we  shall  be  able  to  wield 
the  invincible  eloquence  of  a  long-sustained  character, 
and  obtain,  not  merely  the  attention,  but  the  affectionate 
veneration  of  our  flock.  If  by  our  prayers  and  tears 
and  labors  our  people  become  spiritually  healthy,  we  need 
not  fear  that  we  shall  lose  their  attention.  A  people 
hungering  after  righteousness,  and  a  minister  anxious 
to  feed  their  souls,  will  act  in  sweetest  harmony  with 
each  other  when  their  common  theme  is  the  Word  of 
the  Lord. 

If  you  need  another  direction  for  winning  attention, 
I  should  say,  he  interested  yourself,  and  you  will  interest 
others.  There  is  more  in  those  words  than  there  seems 
to  be,  and  so  I  will  follow  a  custom  which  I  just  now 
condemned,  and  repeit  the  sentence, — be  interested 
yourself,  and  you  will  interest  other  people.  Your  sub- 
ject must  weigh  so  much  upon  your  own  mind  that  you 
dedicate  all  your  faculties  at  their  best  to  the  deliverance 
of  your  soul  concerning  it ;  and  then  when  your  hearers 


220  LECTUKES  TO   JIT   STUDEXTS. 

see  that  tlie  topic  has  engi-ossed  you,  it  will  by  degree 
engross  them. 

Do  you  wonder  tliat  people  do  not  attend  to  a  man 
who  does  not  feel  that  he  has  anything  important  to 
say  ?  Do  you  wonder  that  they  do  not  listen  with  all 
their  ears  when  a  man  does  not  speak  with  all  liis  heart  ? 
Do  you  marvel  that  their  thoughts  ramble  to  subjects 
which  are  real  to  them  when  they  find  that  tlie  preacher 
is  wasting  time  over  matters  which  he  treats  as  if  they 
were  fictions  ?  Eomaine  used  to  say  it  was  well  to  un- 
derstand the  art  of  preaching,  but  infinitely  better  to 
know  the  lieart  of  preaching  ;  and  in  that  saying  there 
is  no  little  weight.  The  heart  of  preaching,  the  throw- 
ing of  the  soul  into  it,  the  earnestness  Avhicli  pleads  as 
for  life  itself,  is  half  the  battle  as  to  gaining  attention. 
At  the  same  time,  you  cannot  hold  men's  minds  in  rapt 
attention  by  mere  earnestness  if  you  have  nothing  to  say. 
People  wall  not  stand  at  their  doors  for  ever  to  hear  a 
fellow  leat  a  drum  ;  they  will  come  out  to  see  what  he 
is  at,  but  when  they  find  that  it  is  much  ado  about  noth- 
ing, th.ej  will  slam  the  door  and  go  in  again,  as  much 
as  to  say,  *'  You  have  taken  us  in  and  we  do  not  like  it." 
Have  something  to  say,  and  say  it  earnestly,  and  the 
congregation  will  be  at  your  feet. 

It  may  I  e  .superfluous  to  remark  that  for  the  mass  of 
our  people  it  is  well  that  tliere  sJwuld  be  a  goodly  iiumher 
of  illustr:,tions  in  our  discoiivses.  We  have  the  example 
of  our  Lorvl  for  that  :  and  most  of  the  greatest  preach- 
ers have  abounded  in  similes,  metaphors,  allegories,  and 
anecdotes.  But  beware  of  overdoing  this  business.  I 
read  the  other  day  the  diary  of  a  German  lady  who  has 
been  converted  from  Luthcranism  to  our  faith,  and  she 
speaks  of  a  certain  village  where  she  lives  :  ''  Tliere  is 
a  mission-station  here,  and  young  men   come  down  to 


ATTENTION  I  221 

preach  to  us.  I  do  not  wish  to  find  fault  with  these 
young  gentlemen,  but  they  tell  us  a  great  many  very 
pretty  little  stories,  and  I  do  not  think  there  is  much 
else  in  what  they  say.  Also  I  have  heard  some  of  their 
little  stories  before,  therefore  they  do  not  so  much  inter- 
est me,  as  they  would  do  if  they  would  tell  us  some  good 
doctrine  out  of  the  Scriptures."  The  same  thing  has  no 
doubt  crossed  many  other  minds.  "  Pretty  stories  "  are 
all  very  well,  but  it  will  never  do  to  rely  upon  them  as 
the  great  attraction  of  a  sermon.  Moreover,  take  warn- 
ing concerning  certain  of  these  ''  pretty  little  stories," 
for  their  day  is  over  and  gone  ;  the  poor  things  are  worn 
thread-bare  and  ought  to  go  into  the  rag-bag.  I  have 
heard  some  of  them  so  many  times,  that  I  could  tell 
them  myself,  but  there  is  no  need.  From  stock  anec- 
dotes may  both  ourselves  and  our  hearers  be  mercifully 
delivered.  Ancient  jests  sicken  us  when  witlings  retail 
them  as  their  own  ideas,  and  anecdotes  to  which  our 
great-gi*andfathers  listened  have  much  the  same  effect 
upon  the  mind.  Beware  of  those  extremely  popular 
compilations  of  illustrations  which  are  in  every  Sunday- 
school  teacher's  hand,  for  nobody  Avill  thank  you  for  re- 
peating what  everybody  already  knows  by  heart ;  if  you 
tell  anecdotes  let  them  have  some  degree  of  freshness 
and  originality  ;  keep  your  eyes  open,  and  gather  flowers 
from  the  garden  and  the  field  with  your  own  hands  ; 
they  will  be  fir  more  acceptable  than  withered  speci- 
mens borrowed  from  other  men's  bouquets,  however 
beautiful  those  may  once  have  been.  Illustrate  richly 
and  aptly,  but  not  so  much  with  parables  imported  from 
foreign  sources  as  Avitli  apt  similes  growing  out  of  the 
subject  itself.  Do  not,  however,  think  the  illustration 
everything  ;  it  is  the  window,  but  of  what  use  is  the 
light  which  it  admits  if  you  have  nothing  for  the  light 


222  LECTURES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

to  reveal  ?  Garnish  jour  dishes,  but  remember  that  tlie 
joint  is  tlie  main  point  to  consider,  not  the  garnishing. 
Eeal  instruction  must  be  given  and  solid  doctrine  taught, 
or  you  will  find  your  imagery  pall  upon  your  hearers, 
and  they  will  pine  for  spiritual  meat. 

In  your  sermons  cultivate  ivhat  FatJier  Taylor  calls 
**  the  surprise  potver."  There  is  a  great  deal  of  force  in 
that  for  winning  attention.  Do  not  say  what  everybody 
expected  you  would  say.*  Keep  your  sentence  out  of 
ruts.  If  you  have  already  said,  "  Salvation  is  all  of 
grace  "  do  not  always  add,  "  and  not  by  human  merit," 
but  vary  it  and  say,  "Salvation  is  all  of  grace;  self- 
righteousness  has  not  a  corner  to  hide  its  head  in."  I 
fear  I  cannot  recall  one  of  Mr.  Taylor's  sentences  so  as 
to  do  it  justice,  but  it  was  something  like  this  :  "  Some 
of  you  make  no  advance  in  the  divine  life,  because  you 
go  forward  a  little  way  and  then  you  float  back  again : 
just  like  a  vessel  on  a  tidal  river  which  goes  down  with 
the  stream  just  far  enough  to  be  carried  back  again  on 
the  return  tide.  So  you  make  good  progress  for  awhile, 
and  then  all  of  a  sudden  " — what  did  he  say  ? — "you 
hitch  up  in  some  muddy  creek."  Did  he  not  also  re- 
peat US  a  speech  to  this  effect, — "  He  felt  sure  that  if 
they  were  converted  they  would  walk  uprightly  and  kec}) 
their  bullocks  out  of  their  neigbor's  corn"  ?  Occasional 
resorts  to  this  system  of  surprise  will  keep  an  audience 
in  a  state  of  proper  expectancy.  I  sat  last  year  about 
this  time  on  the  beach  at  Mentone  by  the  Mediterranean 
Sea.  Tlie  waves  were  very  gently  rising  and  falling,  for 
there  is  little  or  no  tide,  and  the  wind  was  still.  Tiie 
waves  crept  up  languidly  one  after  another,  and  I  took 
little  heed  of  them,  though  they  were  just  at  my  feet. 
Suddenly,  as  if  seized  with  a  new  passion,  the  sea  sent 
up     one    far-reaching    billow,    which     drenched     me 


ATTEXTIOX  !  223 

thoroughly.  Qnict  asIluKl  been  before,  you  can  readily 
nonceive  how  quickly  I  was  on  my  feet,  and  how  speedily 
my  da3'-dreaming  ended.  I  observed  to  a  ministering 
brother  at  my  side,  "  This  shoAvs  us  how  to  preach,  to 
wake  people  up  we  must  astonish  them  with  something 
they  were  not  looking  for."  Brethren,  take  them  at 
unawares.  Let  your  thunderbolt  drop  out  of  a  clear 
sky.  When  all  is  calm  and  bright  let  the  tempest  rush 
up,  and  by  contrast  make  its  terrors  all  the  greater. 
Eemember,  however,  that  nothing  will  avail  if  you  go  to 
sleep  3'ourself  while  you  are  preaching.  Is  that  possible  ? 
Oh,  possible  !  It  is  done  every  Sunday.  Many  min- 
isters arc  more  than  half  asleep  all  through  the  sermon  ; 
indeed,  they  never  were  awake  at  any  time,  and  probably 
never  will  be  unless  a  cannon  should  be  fired  off  near 
their  ear:  tame  phrases,  hackneyed  exi^ressions,  and  dreary 
monotones  make  the  staple  of  their  discourses,  and  they 
wonder  that  the  people  are  so  drowsy  :  I  confess  I  do  not. 
A  very  useful  help  in  securing  attention  is  a  pause. 
Pull  up  short  every  now  and  then,  and  the  passengers  on 
your  coach  will  wake  up.  The  miller  goes  to  sleep  while 
the  mill  wheels  revolve  ;  but  if  by  some  means  or  other 
the  grinding  ceases,  the  good  man  starts  and  cries, 
"  AYhat  now  ?  "  On  a  sultry  summer's  day,  if  nothing 
will  keep  off  the  drowsy  feeling,  be  very  short,  sing  more 
than  usual,  or  call  on  a  brother  or  two  to  pra}'.  A  min- 
ister who  saw  that  the  people  would  sleep,  sat  down  and 
observed,  "  I  saw  you  were  all  resting,  and  I  thought  I 
would  rest  too."  Andrew  Fuller  had  barely  commenced 
his  sermon  when  he  saw  the  people  going  to  sleep.  He 
said,  "'•'  Friends,  friends,  friends,  this  won't  do.  I  have 
thought  sometimes  when  you  were  asleep  that  it  was  my 
fault,  but  now  you  are  asleep  before  I  begin,  and  it  must 
be  your  fault.     Pray  wake  up  and  give  me  an  oppor- 


23-i  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDEIfTS. 

tunity  of  doing  you  some  good."  Just  so.  Kuow  how 
to  pause.  Make  a  point  of  interjecting  arousing  paren- 
tlieses  of  quietude.  Speeeli  is  silver,  but  silence  is  golden 
when  hearers  are  inattentive.  Keep,  on,  on,  on,  on,  on, 
with  commonplace  matter  and  monotonous  tone,  and 
you  are  rocking  the  cradle,  and  deeper  slumbers  will 
result ;  give  the  cradle  a  jerk,  and  sleep  will  flee. 

I  suggest  again  that  in  order  to  secure  attention  all 
through  a  discourse  we  must  make  the  people  feel  tliat 
they  liavG  an  interest  in  wliat  ive  are  saying  to  them. 
This  is,  in  fact,  a  most  essential  point,  because  nobody 
sleeps  while  he  expects  to  hear  something  to  his  advan- 
tage. I  have  heard  of  some  very  strange  things,  but  I 
never  did  hear  of  a  person  going  to  sleep  while  a  will 
was  being  read  in  which  he  expected  a  legacy  ;  neither 
have  I  heard  of  a  prisoner  going  to  sleep  while  the  judge 
was  summing  up,  and  his  life  was  hanging  in  jeopardy. 
Self-interest  quickens  attention.  Preach  upon  practical 
themes,  pressing,  present,  personal  matters,  and  you  will 
secure  an  earnest  hearing. 

It  will  be  Avell  to  prevent  attendants  traversing  the 
aisles  to  meddle  Avith  gas  or  candles,  or  to  distribute 
plates  for  collections,  or  to  open  windows.  Deacons  and 
sextons  trotting  over  the  place  are  a  torture  never  to  bo 
patiently  endured,  and  should  be  kindly,  but  decidedly, 
requested  to  suspend  their  perambulations. 

Late  attendance,  also,  needs  remedying,  and  our 
gentlest  reasonings  and  expostulations  must  be  brought 
to  bear  ujoon  it.  I  feel  sure  that  the  devil  has  a  hand 
hi  many  disturbances  in  the  congregation,  Avhich  jar 
upon  our  nerves,  and  distract  our  thoughts  :  the  bang- 
ing of  a  pew  door,  the  sharp  fall  of  a  stick  on  the  floor, 
or  the  cry  of  a  child,  are  all  convenient  means  in  the 
hands  of  the  evil  one  for  hindering  us  in  our  work  ;  we 


ATTENTION  !  325 

may,  therefore,  rerj  justifiably  beg  our  people  to  pre- 
serve our  usefulness  from  this  class  of  assaults. 

I  gave  you  a  golden  rule  foi  securing  attention  at  the 
coinmen cement,  namely,  always  say  something  worth 
hearing  ;  I  will  now  give  you  a  diamond  rule,  and  con- 
clude. Be  yourself  dollied  with  the  Spirit  of  God,  and 
then  no  question  about  attention  or  non-attention  will 
arise.  Come  fresh  from  the  closet  and  from  communion 
with  God,  to  speak  to  men  for  God  with  all  your  heart 
and  soul,  and  you  must  have  power  over  them.  You 
have  golden  chains  in  your  mouth  which  will  hold  them 
fast.  "When  God  speaks  men  must  listen  ;  and  though 
he  may  speak  through  a  poor  feeble  man  like  themselves, 
the  majesty  of  the  truth  will  compel  them  to  regard  his 
voice.  Supernatural  power  must  be  your  reliance.  We 
say  to  you,  perfect  yourselves  in  oratory,  cultivate  all  the 
fields  of  knowledge,  make  your  sermon  mentally  and 
rhetorically  all  it  ought  to  be  (you  ought  to  do  no  less 
in  such  a  service),  but  at  the  same  time  remember,  *'it 
is  not  by  might,  nor  by  power,"  that  men  are  regenerated 
or  sanctified,  but  "by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord."  Are 
you  not  conscious  sometimes  of  being  clad  with  zeal  as 
with  a  cloak,  and  filled  to  the  full  with  the  Spirit  of 
God  ?  At  such  times  you  have  had  a  hearing  people,  and 
ere  long,  a  believing  people  ;  but  if  you  are  not  thus 
endowed  with  power  from  on  high,  you  are  to  them  no 
more  than  a  musician  who  plays  upon  a  goodly  instru- 
ment, or  sings  a  sweet  song,  with  a  clear  voice,  reaching 
the  ear  but  not  the  heart.  If  you  do  not  touch  the  heart 
you  will  soon  weary  the  ear.  Clothe  yourself,  then,  with 
the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  preach  to  ra(  n  as 
those  who  must  soon  give  an  account,  and  who  desire 
that  their  account  may  not  be  painful  to  their  people 
10* 


226  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

and  grievous  to  tliemsclvcs,  but  tliat  it  may  be  to  the 
glory  of  God. 

Brethren,  may  the  Lord  be  with  you,  while  you  go 
forth  in  his  name  and  cry,  "  lie  that  hatli  cars  to  hear, 
let  hiiu  hear." 


LECTURE  X. 

THE  FACULTY  OF  IMPROMPTU  SPEECH. 

"W'e  are  not  about  to  discuss  tlio  question  as  to 
whether  sermons  should  be  Avritten  and  read,  or  written, 
committed  to  memor}^  and  repeated,  or  whether  copious 
notes  sliould  be  employed,  or  no  notes  at  all.  Xeither 
of  these  is  the  subject  now  under  consideration,  although 
we  may  incidentally  allude  to  each  of  them,  but  we  are 
now  to  speak  of  extemporaneous  speech  in  its  truest  and 
most  thorough  form — speech  impromptu,  Avithout  special 
preparation,  without  notes  or  immediate  forethought. 

Our  first  observation  shall  be  that  we  wotchl  not 
recommend  any  man  to  attempt  preacJiinff  in  tins  style  as 
a  general  ride.  If  he  did  so,  he  would  succeed,  we  think, 
most  certainly,  in  producing  a  vacuum  in  his  meeting- 
house ;  his  gifts  of  dispersion  would  be  clearly  manifested. 
Unstudied  thoughts  coming  from  the  mind  without  pre- 
vious research,  without  the  subjects  in  hand  having  been 
investigated  at  all,  must  be  of  a  very  inferior  quality,  even 
from  the  most  superior  men  ;  and  as  none  of  us  would 
have  the  effronteiy  to  glorifiy  ourselves  as  men  of  genius 
or  wonders  of  erudition,  I  fear  that  our  unpremeditated 
thoughts  upon  most  subjects  would  not  be  remai'kably 
worthy  of  attention.  Churches  are  not  to  be  held  to- 
gether except  by  an  instructive  ministry  ;  a  mere  fdling 
up  of  time  with  oratory  will  not  suffice.  Everywhere 
men  ask  to  be  fed,  really  fed.     Those  new-fangled  relig- 


228  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

ionists,  Tvliose  public  woi'sliip  consists  of  tlie  prelections 
of  any  brother  who  chooses  to  jump  up  and  talk,  notwith- 
standing their  flattering  inducements  to  the  ignorant 
and  garrulous,  usually  dwindle  away,  and  die  out ;  be- 
cause even  men  with  the  most  violently  crotchety  views, 
who  conceive  it  to  be  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  that  every 
member  of  the  body  should  be  a  mouth,  soon  grow  impa- 
tient of  hearing  other  people's  nonsense,  though  delighted 
to  dispense  their  own  ;  while  the  mass  of  the  good  peo- 
ple grow  weary  of  prosy  ignorance,  and  return  to  tlie 
churches  from  which  they  were  led  aside,  or  would  retarn 
if  their  pulpits  were  well  supplied  with  solid  teachmg. 
Even  Quakerism,  with  all  its  excellences,  has  scaicely 
been  able  to  survive  the  poverty  of  thought  and  doctrine 
displayed  in  many  of  its  assemblies  by  impromptu  ora- 
tors. The  method  of  unprepared  ministrations  is  prac- 
tically a  failure,  and  theoretically  unsound.  The  Holy 
Spirit  has  made  no  promise  to  supply  spiritual  food  to 
the  saints  by  an  impromptu  ministry.  He  will  never  do 
for  US  what  we  can  do  for  ourselves.  If  we  can  study, 
and  do  not,  if  we  can  have  a  studious  ministry  and  will  not, 
we  have  no  right  to  call  in  a  divine  agent  to  make  up  the 
deli  cits  of  our  idleness  or  eccentricity.  The  God  of 
jirovidencehas  promised  to  feed  his  people  with  temporal 
food  ;  but  if  we  came  together  to  a  banquet,  and  no  one 
had  prepared  a  single  dish,  because  all  had  faith  in  the 
Lord  that  food  would  be  given  in  the  self-same  hour,  the 
festival  would  not  be  eminently  satisfactory,  but  folly 
would  be  rebuked  by  hunger  ;  as,  indeed,  it  is  in  the  case 
of  spiritual  banquets  of  the  impromptu  kind,  only  meivs 
spiritual  receptacles  are  hardly  such  powerful  orators  as 
their  stomachs.  Gentlemen,  do  not  attempt,  as  a  rule, 
to  follow  a  system  of  things  which  is  so  generally  unprof- 
itable that  the  few  exceptions  only  prove  the  rule.     All 


THIi   FACULTY    OF   IMPROMPTU   SPEECH.  2:29 

Bermons  ought  to  be  well  considered  and  prejiaredl)}'  the 
preacher ;  and,  as  much  as  possible,  every  minister 
should,  Avith  much  prayer  for  heavenly  guidance,  enter 
fully  into  his  subject,  exert  all  his  mental  faculties  in 
03'iginal  thinking,  and  gather  together  all  the  informa- 
tion within  his  reach.  Viewing  the  whole  matter  fr(>ni 
all  quarters,  the  preacher  should  think  it  out,  get  it  well 
masticated  and  digested  ;  and  having  first  fed  upon  the 
word  himself  should  then  prepare  the  like  nutriment 
for  others.  Our  sermon  should  be  our  mental  life-blood 
— the  out-flow  of  our  intellectual  and  spiritual  vigor ; 
or,  to  change  the  figure,  they  should  be  diamonds  well 
cut  and  well  set — precious,  intrinsically,  and  bearing  the 
marks  of  labor.  God  forbid  that  we  should  offer  to  the 
Lord  that  which  costs  us  nothing. 

Very  strongly  do  I  warn  all  of  you  against  reading 
your  sermons,  but  I  recommend,  as  a  most  healthful  ex- 
ercise, and  as  a  great  aid  towards  attaining  extemporizing 
power, the  frequent  writing  of  them.  Those  of  us  who 
Avrite  a  great  deal  in  other  forms,  for  the  press,  et  cetera, 
may  not  so  much  require  that  exercise  ;  but  if  you  do  not 
use  the  pen  in  other  ways,  you  will  be  wise  to  write  at  least 
some  of  your  sermons,  and  revise  them  with  great  care. 
Leave  them  at  home  afterwards,  but  still  write  them 
out,  that  ycu  may  be  preserved  from  a  slipshod  style. 
fM.  Bantainin  his  admirable  work  on  extempore  speaking, 
remarks,  "You  will  never  be  capable  of  speaking  prop- 
erly i^  public  unless  you  acquire  such  mastery  of  your 
own  thought  as  to  be  al)le  to  decompose  it  into  its  parts, 
to  analyze  it  into  its  elements,  and  then,  at  need,  to 
re-compose,  re-gather,  and  consecrate  it  again  by  a  syn- 
thetical process.  Now  this  analysis  of  the  idea,  which 
displays  it,  as  it  were,  before  the  eyes  of  the  mind,  is  well 
executed  only  by  writing.     The  pen  is  the  scalpel  which 


230  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

dissects  the  thoughts,  and  never,  except  when  yon  write 
down  what  yon  behold  internally,  can  you  succeed  in 
clearly  discerning  all  that  is  contained  in  a  conception, 
or  in  obtaining  its  well-marked  scope.  You  then  under- 
stand yourself,  and  make  others  understand  you." 

Vie  do  not  recommend  the  plan  of  learning  sermons 
by  heart,  and  repeating  them  from  memory,  that  is  both 
a  wearisome  exercise  of  an  inferior  power  of  the  mind 
and  an  indolent  neglect  of  other  and  superior  faculties. 
The  most  arduous  and  commendable  plan  is  to  store  your 
mind  with  matter  upon  the  subject  of  discourse,  and 
then  to  deliver  yourself  with  appropriate  words  which 
suggest  themselves  at  the  time.  This  is  not  extem- 
poraneous preaching  ;  the  words  are  extemporal,  as  I 
think  they  always  should  be,  but  the  thoughts  are  the 
result  of  research  and  study.  Only  thoughtless  persons 
think  this  to  be  easy  ;  it  is  at  once  the  most  laborious  and 
the  most  efficient  mode  of  preaching,  and  it  has  virtues 
of  its  own  of  which  I  cannot  now  speak  particularly, 
since  it  would  lead  us  away  from  the  point  in  hand. 

Our  subject  is  the  faculty  of  pure,  unmixed,  genu- 
inely extemporaneous  speaking,  and  to  this  let  us  return. 
This  power  is  extremely  useful,  and  in  most  cases  is, 
with  a  little  diligence,  to  be  acquired.  It  ig  possessed 
by  many,  yet  not  by  so  many  that  I  shall  be  incorrect 
if  I  say  that  the  gift  is  rare.  The  imjjrovisatori  of  Italy 
possessed  the  power  of  impromptu  speech  to  such  an 
extent,  that  their  extemporaneous  verses  upon  subjects 
suggested  on  the  spot  by  the  spectators,  frequently 
amounted  to  hundreds  and  even  thousands  of  lines. 
They  would  produce  whole  tragedies  as  spontaneously 
as  springs  bubble  up  with  Avater,  and  rhyme  away  by  the 
half-hour  and  the  hour  together,  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment,  and  perhaps  also  on  the  spur  of  a  little  Italian 


THE   FACULTY   OF   IMPROMPTU   SPEECU.  231 

wine.  Their  printed  works  seldom  rise  above  mediocrity, 
and  yet  one  of  them,  Pcrfetti,  gained  the  laurel  crown 
which  had  been  awarded  only  to  Petrarch  and  Tasso. 
Many  of  them  at  this  hour  produce  off-hand  verses  which 
are  equal  to  the  capacities  of  their  hearers,  and  secure 
their  breathless  attention.  AVhy  cannot  we  acquire  just 
such  a  power  in  prose  ?  "We  shall  not  be  able,  I  suppose, 
to  produce  verses,  nor  need  we  desire  the  faculty.  Many 
of  yon  have  no  doubt  versified  a  little,  (as  which  of  us  in 
some  weak  moment  has  not?)  but  Ave  have  put  away 
childish  things  now  that  the  sober  prose  of  life  and  death, 
and  heaven  and  hell,  and  perishing  sinners,  demands  all 
our  thought.* 

Many  lawyers  possess  the  gift  of  extemporaneous 
speech  in  a  high  degree.  They  should  have  some  vir- 
tues !  Some  weeks  ago  a  wretched  being  was  indicted 
for  the  horrible  crime  of  libelling  a  lawyer  ;  it  is  well  for 
him  that  I  was  not  his  judge,  for  had  such  a  difficult  and 
atrocious  crime  been  fairly  brought  home  to  him,  I  would 
have  delivered  him  over  to  be  cross-examined  during  the 
term  of  his  natural  life,  hoping  for  mercy's  sake  that  it 
might  be  a  brief  one.  But  the  gentlemen  of  the  bar  are 
many  of  them  most  ready  speakers,  and  as  you  will 
clearly  fee,  they  must  to  a  considerable  degree  be  extem- 
poraneous speakers  too,  because  it  would  be  impossible 
for  them  always  to  foresee  the  line  of  argument  which 
the  evidence,  or  the  temper  of  the  judge,  or  the  plead- 
ings on  the  other  side  would  require.  However  well  a 
case  may  be  prepared,  jioints  must  and  will  arise  requir- 
ing an  active  mind  and  a  fluent  tongue  to  deal  with  them. 

*  Mr.  Wesley  tbouglit  it  needful  to  say,"  Sing  no  hymns  of 
your  own  composing."  The  habit  of  giving  out  rhymes  of  their 
own  concoction  was  rife  among  the  divines  of  his  day ;  it  is  to  be 
hoped  it  is  now  utterly  extinct. 


232  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDEKT3. 

Indeed,  I  have  been  astonished  to  observe  the  v.'ifcty, 
sharp,  and  in  every  way  appropriate  replies  which  counsel 
will  throw  off  without  forethought  in  our  courts  of  law. 
What  a  barrister  can  do  in  advocating  the  cause  of  liis 
client,  you  and  I  should  surely  be  able  to  do  in  the 
cause  of  God.  The  bar  must  not  be  allowed  to  excel  the 
l^ulpit.  We  wiirbe  as  expert  in  intellectual  arms  as  any 
men,  be  they  who  they  may,  God  helping  us. 

Certain  members  of  the  House  of  Commons  have  ex- 
ercised the  faculty  of  extemporaneous  speaking  witli 
great  results.  Usually  of  all  tasks  of  hearing,  the  most 
miserable  is  that  of  listening  to  one  of  the  common  ruck 
of  speakers  from  the  House  of  Lords  and  Commons. 
Let  it  be  proposed  that  when  capital  punishment  is 
abolished,  those  who  are  found  guilty  of  murder  shall  be 
comiDclled  to  listen  to  a  selection  of  the  dreariest  parlia- 
meiitary  orators.  The  members  of  the  Royal  Humane 
Society  forbid.  Yet  in  the  House  some  of  the  members 
are  able  to  speak  extemporaneously,  and  to  speak  well. 
I  should  imagine  that  some  of  the  finest  things  which 
have  been  said  by  John  Bright,  and  Gladstone,  and  Dis- 
raeli, Avere  altogether  what  Southey  would  call  jets  from 
the  great  Geyser  when  the  spring  is  in  full  play.  Of 
course,  their  long  orations  upon  the  Budget,  the  Reform 
Bill,  and  so  on,  were  elaborated  to  the  highest  degree 
by  previous  manipulation  ;  but  many  of  their  briefer 
speeches  have,  no  doubt,  been  the  offspring  of  the  hour, 
and  yet  have  had  an  amazing  a  mount  of  power  about  them. 
Shall  the  representatives  of  the  nation  attain  an  expert- 
ness  of  speech  beyond  the  representatives  of  the  court  of 
heaven  ?  Brethren,  covet  earnestly  this  good  gift,  and  go 
about  to  win  it. 

You  are  all  convinced  that  the  ability  which  we  are 
considering  must  be  a  priceless  possession  for  a  minister. 


THE    FACULTY   OF   IMPEOMPTU    SPEECH.  233 

Did  we  hear  a  sinirle  heart  "whisper,  "I  wisli  I  had  it, 
for  then  I  shoukl  have  no  need  to  study  so  arduously''? 
All  !  then  you  must  not  have  it,  you  are  unwortliy  of  the 
boon,  and  unfit  to  he  trusted  with  it.  If  you  seek  this 
gift  as  a  pillow  for  an  idle  head,  you  will  bo  much  mis- 
taken ;  for  the  possession  of  this  noble  power  will  involve 
yon  in  a  vast  amount  of  liihor  in  order  to  increase  and 
even  to  retain  it.  It  is  like  the  magic  lamp  in  the  fable, 
which  would  not  shine  except  it  was  well  rubbed,  and 
became  a  mere  dim  globe  as  soon  as  the  rubbing  ceased. 
What  the  sluggard  desires  for  the  sake  of  ease,  Ave  may 
however  covet  for  the  best  of  reasons. 

Occasionally  one  has  heard  or  read  of  men  agreeing, 
by  way  of  bravado,  to  preach  upon  texts  given  them  at 
the  time  in  the  pulpit,  or  in  the  vestry:  such  vainglo- 
rious displays  are  disgusting,  and  border  on  profanity. 
As  well  might  w^e  have  exhibitions  of  juggling  on  the 
Sabbath  as  such  mountebankism  of  oratory.  Our  tal- 
ents are  given  us  for  far  other  ends.  Such  a  prostitu- 
tion of  gift  I  trust  you  will  never  be  allowed  to  perpetrate. 
Feats  of  speech  are  well  enough  in  a  debating  club,  but 
in  the  ministry  they  are  abominable  even  when  a  Bossuet 
lends  himself  to  them. 

The  power  of  impromptu  speech  is  invaluable,  because 
it  enables  a  man  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  in  an  emer- 
gency, to  deliver  himself  Avith  propriety.  These  emer- 
gencies will  arise.  Accidents  will  occur  in  the  best 
regulated  assemblies.  Singular  events  may  turn  the 
premeditated  current  of  your  thoughts  quite  aside.  You 
will  see  clearly  that  the  subject  selected  would  be  inop- 
portune, and  you  will  as  a  Avise  man  drift  into  something 
else  without  demur.  When  the  old  road  is  closed,  and 
there  is  no  help  for  it  but  to  make  a  new  way  for  the 
chariot,  uiilessyou  are  qualified  to  drive  the  horses  OAer 


334  LECTL'RES   TO    MY   STUDEN"TS. 

a  plonglied  field  as  well  as  along  tlie  macadamized  road 
on  which  you  hoped  to  travel,  you  will  find  yourself  off 
the  coacli-box,  and  mischief  will  befall  the  company.  It 
is  a  great  acquisition  to  be  able  at  a  public  meeting,  when 
you  have  heard  the  speeches  of  your  brethren,  and  be- 
lieve that  they  liave  been  too  frivolous,  or  it  may  be,  on 
the  other  hand,  too  dull,  without  any  alliis'ons  to  them, 
quietly  to  counteract  the  mischief,  and  lead  the  assembly 
into  a  more  profitable  line  of  thought.  This  gift  may 
be  of  the  utmost  importance  in  the  church-meeting, 
where  business  may  arise  which  it  would  be  diflicult  to 
foresee.  All  the  troublers  of  Israel  are  not  yet  dead. 
Achan  was  stoned,  and  his  wife,  and  his  children,  but 
others  of  his  family  must  have  escaped,  for  the  race  has 
certainly  been  perpetuated,  and  needs  to  be  dealt  with 
discreetly  and  vigorously.  In  some  churches  certain 
noisy  men  will  rise  and  speak,  and  when  they  have  done 
so,  it  is  of  great  importance  that  the  pastor  should  read- 
ily and  convincingly  reply,  lest  bad  impressions  should 
remain.  A  pastor  who  goes  to  the  church-meeting  in  the 
spirit  of  his  Master,  feeling  sure  that  in  reliance  upon 
the  Holy  Spirit  he  is  quite  able  to  answer  any  untoward 
spirit,  sits  at  ease,  keeps  his  temper,  rises  in  esteem  on 
eacli  occasion,  and  secures  a  quiet  cliurch  ;  but  the  un- 
ready brother  is  flurried,  probably  gets  into  a  passion, 
commits  himself,  and  inherits,  a  world  of  sorrow.  Be- 
sides tliis,  a  man  may  be  called  upon  to  preach  at  a 
moment's  notice,  through  the  non-arrival  of  the  expected 
minister,  or  his  sudden  sickness  ;  at  a  public  meeting 
one  may  feel  stirred  to  speak  where  silence  had  been 
resolved  upon ;  and  at  any  form  of  religious  exercise 
emergencies  may  arise  which  will  render  impromptu, 
speech  as  precious  as  the  gold  of  Ophir. 

The  gift  is  valuable — ^liow  is  it  to  be  obtained  ?    The 


THE    FACULTY   OF   IMl'ROMPTU    SPEECH.  235 

question  leads  us  to  remark  that  some  men  will  never  oh- 
tain  it.  There  must  be  a  ntitural  adaptedness  for  extem- 
poraneous speech  ;  even  as  for  the  poetic  art  :  a  poet  is 
born,  not  made.  "Art  may  develop  and.  perfect  the 
talent  of  a  speaker,  but  cannot  produce  it."  All  the  rules 
of  rhetoric,  and  all  the  artifices  of  oratory  cannot  make 
a  man  eloquent,  it  is  a  gift  from  heaven,  and  where  it  is 
withheld  it  cannot  be  obtained.  This  "  gift  of  utterance," 
as  Ave  call  it,  is  born  with  some  people,  inherited  prob- 
ably from  the  mother's  side.*  To  others  the  gift  is 
denied  ;  their  conformation  of  jaw,  and  yet  more  their 
conformation  of  brain,  never  will  allow  of  their  becoming 
fluent  and  ready  speakers.  They  may,  perhaps,  make 
moderate  stutterers  and  slow  deliverers  of  sober  truth, 
but  they  can  never  be  impromptu  orators  ;  unless  they 
should  rival  Methuselah  in  age,  and  then  perhaps  on  the 
Darwinian  theory,  which  educes  an  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury from  an  oyster,  they  might  develojj  into  speakers. 
If  there  be  not  a  natural  gift  of  oratory  a  brother  may 
attain  to  a  respectable  jiost  in  other  departments,  but  he 
is  not  likely  to  shine  as  a  bright  particular  star  in  extem- 
porary speech. 

//■  a  man  would  speak  loitliout  any  present  studif,  he 
must  usually  study  much.  This  is  a  paradox,  joerliaps, 
but  its  explanation  lies  upon  the  surface.  If  I  am  a 
miller,  and  I  have  a  sack  brought  to  my  door,  and  am 
asked  to  fill  that  sack  with  good  fine  ilour  within  tlie 
next  five  minutes,  the  only  way  in  which  I  can  do  it, 
is  by  keeping  the  flour-bin  of  my  mill  always  full,  so 
that  I  can  at  once  open  the  mouth  of  the  sack,  fill  it, 
and  deliver  it.     I  do  not  happen  to  be  grinding  at  that 

*  "  There  are  men  organized  to  speak  well,  as  there  are  birds 
organized  to  slug  well,  bees  to  make  honey,  and  beavers  to  build."— ^ 
M.  Bautain. 


236  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

lime,  and  so  far  the  delivery  is  extemporary ;  but  I  have 
been  grinding  before,  and  so  have  the  flour  to  scr^e  out 
to  the  customer.  So,  bretliren,  you  must  have  been 
'grinding,  or  3^ou  will  not  have  the  flour.  You  will  not 
be  able  to  extemporize  good  thinking  unless  you  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  thinking  and  feeding  your  laind 
■with  abundant  and  nourishing  food.  Work  hard  at 
every  available  moment.  Store  your  minds  very  richly, 
and  then,  like  merchants  with  crowded  warehouses,  joii 
will  have  goods  ready  for  your  customers,  and  having 
arranged  your  good  things  upon  the  shelves  of  your 
mind,  you  Avill  be  able  to  hand  them  down  at  any  time 
without  the  laborious  process  of  going  to  market,  sorting, 
folding,  and  preparing.  I  do  not  believe  that  any  man 
can  be  successful  in  continuously  maintaining  the  gift 
of  extemporaneous  speech,  except  by  ordinarily  using 
far  more  labor  than  is  usual  with  those  who  write  and 
commit  their  discourses  to  memory.  Take  it  as  a  rule 
without  exception,  that  to  be  able  to  overflow  spontane- 
ously you  must  be  full. 

The  collection  of  a  fund  of  ideas  and  expressions  is 
exceedingly  heljjful.  There  is  a  Avealth  and  poverty  in 
each  of  these  respects.  He  who  has  much  information, 
well  arranged,  and  thoroughly  understood,  with  which 
he  is  intimately  familiar,  will  be  able  like  some  prince 
of  fabulous  Avealth  to  scatter  gold  right  and  left  among 
the  crowd.  To  you,  gentlemen,  and  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Word  of  God,  with  the  iuAvard  spiritual 
life,  with  the  great  problems  of  time  and  eternity,  will 
be  indispensable.  Out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart 
the  mouth  speaketh.  Accustom  yourselves  to  heavenly 
meditations,  search  the  Scriptures,  delight  yourselves  in 
the  law  of  the  Lord,  and  you  need  not  fear  to  speak  of 
things  which  you  have  tasted  and  handled  of  tl  e  good 


THE   FACULTY   OF   IMPROMPTU  SPEECn.  237 

word  of  God.  Men  may  well  be  slow  of  speech  in  dis- 
cussing themes  beyond  the  range  of  their  experience  ; 
but  you,  warmed  with  love  towards  the  King,  and  enjoy- 
ing fellowship  with  him,  Avill  find  your  hearts  inditing  a 
good  matter,  and  your  tongues  will  be  as  the  pens  of 
ready  writers.  Get  at  the  roots  of  spiritual  truths  by 
an  experimental  acquaintance  with  them,  so  shall  you 
with  readiness  expound  tliem  to  others.  Ignorance  of 
theology  is  no  rare  thing  in  our  pulpits,  and  the  wonder 
is  not  that  so  few  men  are  extempore  speakers,  but  that 
so  many  are,  when  theologians  arc  so  scarce.  We  shall 
never  have  great  preachers  till  we  have  great  divines. 
Yoii  cannot  build  a  man-of-war  out  of  a  currant  bush, 
nor  can  great  soul-moving  preachers  be  formed  out  of 
superficial  students.  If  you  would  l)e  fluent,  that  is  to 
say  floAvi ng,  be  filled  with  all  knowledge,  and  especially 
with  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  your  Lord.  But  we 
remarked  that  a  fund  of  expressions  would  be  also  of 
mucli  help  to  the  extempore  speaker ;  and,  truly,  second 
only  to  a  store  of  ideas  is  a  rich  vocabulary.  Beauties 
of  language,  elegancies  of  speech,  and  above  all  forcible 
sentences  are  to  be  selected,  remembered,  and  imitated. 
You  are  not  to  carry  that  gold  pencil-case  with  you,  and 
jot  down  down  every  polysyllabic  word  Avdiicli  you  meet 
Avith  in  your  reading,  so  as  to  put  it  in  your  next  sermon, 
but  you  are  to  know  what  words  mean,  to  be  able  to 
estimate  the  power  of  a  synonym,  to  judge  the  rhythm 
of  a  sentence,  and  to  Aveigli  the  force  of  an  expletive. 
You  must  be  masters  of  Avords,  they  must  be  your  genii, 
your  angels,  your  thunderbolts,  or  your  drops  of  honey. 
Mere  word-gatherers  are  hoarders  of  oyster  shells,  bean 
husks,  and  apple-parings ;  but  to  a  man  Avho  has  wide 
information  and  deep  thought,  words  are  baskets  of  sil- 
vei-  in  which  to  serve  up  his  apples  of  gold.     See  to  it 


238  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

that  yon  have  a  good  team  of  words  to  draw  the  wagon 
of  your  thoughts. 

I  tJiink,  too,  that  a  man  who  would  speak  well,  ex- 
temporaneously, must  he  careful  to  select  a  topic  wliich 
lic  understands.  This  is  the  main  j)oint.  Ever  since  I 
have  l)een  in  London,  in  order  to  get  into  the  habit  of 
speaking  extemporaneously,  I  have  never  studied  or  pre- 
pared anything  for  the  Monday  evening  prayer-meetiug. 
I  have  all  along  selected  that  occasion  as  the  opportunity 
for  off-hand  exhortation  ;  but  you  will  observe  that  I  do 
not  on  such  occasions  select  difficult  expository  topics, 
or  abstruse  themes,  but  restrict  myself  to  simple,  homely 
talk,  about  the  elements  of  our  faith.  When  standing 
up  on  such  occasions,  one's  mind  makes  a  review,  and 
inquires,  ''What  subject  has  already  taken  up  my 
thought  during  the  day  ?  What  have  I  met  with  in  my 
reading  during  the  past  week  ?  What  is  most  laid  upon 
my  heart  at  this  hour  ?  What  is  suggested  by  the  hymns 
or  the  prayers  ? "  It  is  of  no  use  to  rise  before  an  as- 
sembly, and  hope  to  be  inspired  upon  subjects  of  which 
you  know  nothing ;  if  yon  are  so  unwise,  the  result  will 
be  that  as  you  know  nothing  you  will  probably  say  it, 
and  the  people  will  not  be  edified.  But  I  do  not  see  why 
a  man  cannot  speak  extemporaneously  upon  a  sul^ject 
which  he  fully  understands.  Any  tradesman,  well 
versed  in  his  line  of  business,  could  explain  it  to  you 
without  needing  to  retire  for  meditation  ;  and  surely  we 
ought  to  be  equally  familiar  with  the  first  principles  of 
our  holy  faith ;  we  ought  not  to  feel  at  a  loss  when 
called  upon  to  speak  upon  topics  which  constitute  the 
daily  bread  of  our  souls.  I  do  not  see  what  benefit  is 
gained  in  such  a  case,  by  the  mere  manual  labor  of 
writing  before  speaking ;  because  in  so  doing,  a  man 
would  write   extemporaneously,    and    extemporaneous 


THE   FACULTY    OF   IMPROMPTU    SPEECH.  2^9 

writing  is  likely  to  be  even  feebler  than  extemporaneous 
t?peech.  The  gain  of  the  writing  lies  in  the  o])porr,nnity 
of  careful  revision  ;  but  as  able  writers  are  able  to  cx- 
]n-ess  their  thoughts  correctly  at  the  first,  so  also  may 
able  speakers.  The  thought  of  a  man  who  finds  himself 
upon  his  legs,  dilating  upon  a  theme  with  which  he  is 
familiar,  may  be  very  far  from  being  his  first  thought ; 
it  may  be  the  cream  of  his  meditations  warmed  by  the 
glow  of  his  heart.  He,  having  studied  the  subject  well 
before,  though  not  at  that  moment,  may  deliver  himself 
most  powerfully  ;  whereas  another  man,  sitting  down  to 
write,  may  only  be  penning  his  first  ideas,  which  may  be 
vague  and  vapid.  Do  not  attempt  to  be  impromptu 
then,  unless  you  have  well  studied  the  theme — this  para- 
dox is  a  counsel  of  prudence.  I  remember  to  have  beei) 
tried  rather  sharply  upon  one  occasion,  and  had  I  not 
been  versed  in  impromptu  address,  I  know  not  how  it 
would  have  sped  with  me.  I  was  expected  to  jjreach  in 
a  certain  chapel,  and  there  was  a  crowded  congregation, 
but  I  Avas  not  in  time,  being  delayed  by  some  blockade 
upon  the  railroad  ;  so  another  minister  went  on  with  the 
service,  and  when  I  reached  the  place,  all  breathless  with 
running,  he  was  already  preaching  a  sermon.  Seeing  me 
appear  at  the  front  door  and  pass  up  the  aisle,  he  stopped 
and  said,  "There  he  is,"  and  looking  at  me,  he  added, 
"  I'll  make  way  for  you  ;  come  up  and  finish  the  sermon," 
I  asked  him  Avliat  was  the  text  and  how  far  he  had  gone 
with  it.  He  told  me  what  the  text  was,  and  said  he 
had  just  passed  through  the  first  head  ;  without  Jiesi- 
tation  I  took  up  the  discourse  at  that  point  and  finished 
the  sermon,  and  I  should  be  ashamed  of  any  man  here 
who  could  not  have  done  the  same,  the  circumstancoa 
being  such  as  to  make  the  task  a  remarkably  easy  one. 
In  the  first  place  the  minister  was  my  grandfather,  and, 


240  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

in  the  second  place,  the  text  was — "  By  gi-acc  are  ye 
saved,  through  faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the 
gift  of  God."  He  must  have  been  a  more  foolish  animal 
than  that  which  Balaam  rode,  if,  at  such  a  juncture,  he 
had  7iot  found  a  tongue.  "  By  grace  are  ye  saved,"  had 
])een  spoken  of  as  indicating  the  source  of  salvation  ;  who 
could  not  follow  by  describing  the  next  clause — "  through 
fciith,"  as  the  channel?  One  did  not  need  to  study  much 
to  show  that  salvation  is  received  by  us  through  faith. 
Yet,  on  that  occasion,  I  had  a  further  trial ;  for  when  I 
had  proceeded  a  little,  and  was  warming  to  my  work,  a 
hand  patted  my  back  approvingly,  and  a  voice  said, 
'' That's  right — that's  right;  tell  them  that  again,  for 
fear  they  should  forget  it."  Thereupon  I  repeated  the 
truth,  and  a  little  further  on,  when  I  was  becoming 
rather  deeply  experimental  I  was  gently  pulled  by  my 
coat-tail,  and  the  old  gentleman  stood  up  in  front  and 
said,  "  Now,  my  grandson  can  tell  you  this  as  a  theory, 
but  I  am  here  to  bear  witness  to  it  as  a  matter  of  practi- 
cal experience  ;  I  am  older  than  he  is,  and  I  must  give 
you  my  testimony  as  an  old  man."  Then  after  having 
given  us  his  personal  experience,  he  said,  "There,  now, 
my  grandson  can  preach  the  gospel  a  great  deal  better 
than  I  can,  but  he  cannot  preach  a  better  gospel,  can 
he?"  Well,  gentlemen,  I  can  easily  imagine  tliat  if  I 
had  not  possessed  some  little  power  of  extemporaneous 
S]ieecli  upon  that  occasion,  I  might  have  been  somewhat 
rullled  ;  but  as  it  was,  it  came  as  naturally-  as  if  it  had 
been  prearranged. 

The  acquisition  of  another  language  affords  a  fine 
drilling  for  the  practice  of  extempore  speech.  Brought 
iuto  connection  with  the  roots  of  words,  and  the  rules 
of  speech,  and  being  compelled  to  note  the  differentia  of 
the  two  languages,  a  man  grows  by  degrees  to  be  much  at 


THE   FACULTY  OF  IMPROMPTU   SPEUCF.  241 

home  witli  parts  of  speech,  moods,  tenses,  and  inflfTtioi^s; 
like  a  workman  he  becomes  famihar  with  his  tools,  and 
handles  them  as  evei^  day  companions.  I  know  of  no 
better  exercise  than  to  translate  with  as  much  rapidity 
as  possible  a  portion  of  Virgil  or  Tacitus,  and  then  wi*^^lx 
deliberation  to  amend  one's  mistakes.  Persons  who 
know  uo  better,  think  all  time  thrown  away  which  is 
spent  upon  the  classics,  but  if  it  were  only  for  the  use- 
fulness of  such  students  to  the  sacred  orator,  they  ought 
to  be  retained  in  all  our  collegiate  institutions.  AVho 
does  not  see  that  the  perpetual  comparison  of  the  term? 
and  idioms  of  two  languages  must  aid  facility  of  expres- 
sion ?  "Who  does  not  see  moreover  that  by  this  exercise 
the  mind  becomes  able  to  appreciate  refinements  and  sub- 
tleties of  meaning,  and  so  acquires  the  power  of  distin- 
guishing between  things  that  differ — a  power  essential 
to  an  expositor  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  an  extemporf 
declarer  of  his  truth.  Learn,  gentlemen,  to  put  together, 
and  unscrew  all  the  machinery  of  language  ;  mark  everv 
cog,  and  wheel,  and  bolt,  and  rod,  and  you  will  feel  the 
more  free  to  drive  the  engine,  even  at  an  express  speed 
should  emergencies  demand  it. 

Every  man  who  wishes  to  acquire  this  art  must 
practise  it.  It  was  by  slow  degrees,  as  Burke  says, 
that  Charles  Fox  became  the  most  brilliant  and  power- 
ful debater  that  ever  lived.  He  attributed  his  success 
to  the  resolution  which  he  formed  when  very  young,  of 
speaking  well  or  ill,  at  least  once  every  night.  "  Dur- 
ing five  whole  seasons,"  he  used  to  say,  "  I  spoke  every 
night  but  one,  and  I  regret  only  that  I  did  not  speak  on 
that  night  too."  At  first  he  may  do  so  Avith  no  other 
auditory  than  the  chairs  and  books  of  his  study,  imitat- 
ing the  example  of  a  gentleman  who,  upon  applying  for 
admission  to  this  college,  assured  me  that  he  had  for 


242  LECTUKES  TO   MY  STUDEJiTTS. 

two  years  practised  himself  in  extempore  preacliing  in 
bis  own  room.  Students  living  together  might  be  of 
great  mutual  assistance  by  alternately  acting  the  part 
of  audience  and  speaker,  with  a  little  friendly  criticism 
at  the  close  of  each  attempt.  Conversation,  too,  may 
be  of  essential  service,  if  it  be  a  matter  of  principle  to 
make  it  solid  and  edifying.  Thought  is  to  be  linked 
with  speech,  that  is  the  problem ;  and  it  may  assist  a 
man  in  its  solution,  if  he  endeavors  in  his  private  musings 
to  think  aloud.  So  has  this  become  habitual  to  me  that 
I  find  it  very  helpful  to  be  able,  in  private  devotion,  to 
loray  with  my  voice ;  reading  aloud  is  more  beneficial 
to  me  than  the  silent  process  ;  and  when  I  am  mentally 
working  out  a  sermon,  it  is  a  relief  to  me  to  speak  to 
myself  as  the  thoughts  flow  forth.  Of  course  this  only 
masters  half  the  difiiculty,  and  you  must  practise  in 
public,  in  order  to  overcome  the  trepidation  occasioned 
by  the  sight  of  an  audience ;  but  half  way  is  a  great 
part  of  a  Journey.  Good  impromptiT  speech  is  just 
tbe  utterance  of  a  practised  thinker — a  man  of  informa- 
tion, meditating  on  his  legs,  and  allowing  his  thoughts 
to  march  through  his  mouth  into  the  open  air.  Think 
aloud  as  much  as  you  can  when  you  are  alone,  and  you 
will  soon  be  on  the  high  road  to  success  in  this  matter. 
The  discussion  and  debates  in  the  school-room  are  of 
vital  importance  as  a  further  step,  and  I  would  urge  the 
more  retiring  brethren  to  take  a  part  in  them.  The 
practice  of  calling  upon  you  to  speak  upon  a  topic 
drawn  at  random  from  a  bowl  out  of  a  wide  selection 
has  been  introduced  among  you,  and  we  must  more 
frequently  resort  to  it.  What  I  condemned  as  a  part 
of  religious  worsliip,  we  may  freely  use  as  a  scholastic 
exercise  among  ourselves.  It  is  calculated  to  try  a 
man's  readiness  and  self-command,  and  those  who  fail 


THE  FACULTY   OF   IMPROMPTU   SPEECH.  343 

m  it  are  probably  as  much  benefited  as  those  who  suc- 
ceed, for  self-knowledge  may  be  as  useful  to  one  as 
practice  to  another.  If  the  discovery  that  you  are  as 
yet  a  bungler  in  oratory  should  drive  you  to  severer 
study  and  more  resolute  endeavors,  it  may  be  the  true 
path  to  ultimate  success. 

In  addition  to  the  practice  commended,  I  must  urge 
upon  you  tbe  necessity  of  being  cool  and  confident.  As 
Sydney  Smith  says,  "  A  great  deal  of  talent  is  lost  to  the 
world  for  want  of  a  little  courage."  This  is  not  to 
be  easily  acquired  by  tbe  young  speaker.  Cannot  you 
young  sj)eakers  sympathize  with  Blondin,  the  rope 
walker  ?  Do  you  not  sometimes  feel  when  you  are 
preaching  as  though  you  are  walking  on  a  I'ope  high  in 
the  air,  and  do  you  not  tremble  and  wonder  whether  you 
will  reach  the  other  end  in  safety  ?  Sometimes  when 
you  have  been  flourishing  that  beautiful  balancing  pole, 
and  watching  the  metapborical  spangles  which  flash 
poetry  upon  your  audience,  have  you  not  been  half 
regretful  that  you  ever  exposed  yourself  to  such  risks  of 
sudden  descent,  or,  to  drop  the  figure,  have  you  not 
wondered  whether  you  would  be  able  to  conclude  the 
sentence,  or  find  a  verb  for  the  nominative,  or  an  accu- 
sative for  tlie  verb  ?  Everything  depends  upon  your 
being  cool  and  unflurried.  Forebodings  of  failure,  and 
fear  of  man,  will  ruin  you.  Go  on,  trusting  in  God, 
and  all  will  be  well.  If  you  have  made  a  blunder  in 
grammar,  and  you  are  half  inclined  to  go  back  to  cor- 
rect it,  you  will  soon  make  another,  and  your  hesitation 
will  involve  you  as  in  a  net.  Let  me  whisper — for  it  is 
meant  for  your  ear  alone — it  is  always  a  bad  thing  to 
go  back.  If  you  make  a  verbal  blunder,  go  on,  and  io 
not  notice  it.  My  father  gave  me  a  very  good  rule  when 
I  was  learning  to  write,  which  I  think  of  equal  utility  in 


2i4  LECTURES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

learning  to  speak.  He  used  to  say,  "  "When  yoiT  aro 
writing,  if  you  make  a  mistake  by  misspelling  a  Avoid, 
or  by  writing  a  wrong  word,  do  not  cross  it  out  and 
make  a  mess  of  it,  but  see  how  you  can  in  the  readiest 
way  alter  what  you  were  going  to  say  so  as  to  bring  in 
what  yon  have  written,  and  leave  no  trace  of  mistake." 
So  in  speaking,  if  the  sentence  will  not  finish  in  the 
best  way,  conclude  it  in  another.  It  is  of  very  little  use 
to  go  back  to  amend,  for  you  thus  call  attention  to  the 
flaw  which  perhaps  few  had  noticed,  and  you  draw  off 
the  mind  from  your  subject  to  your  language,  which  is 
the  last  thing  which  the  joreacher  should  do.  If,  how- 
ever, your  lapsus  linguce  should  be  noticed,  all  persons 
of  sense  will  forgive  a  young  beginner,  and  they  will 
rather  admire  you  than  otherwise  for  attaching  small 
importance  to  such  slii)s,  and  pressing  on  with  your 
whole  heart  towards  your  main  design.  A  novice  at 
public  speaking  is  like  a  rider  unused  to  horseback  ;  if  his 
horse  stumbles  he  fears  he  will  be  down  and  throw  him 
over  his  head,  or  if  it  be  a  little  fresh,  he  feels  assured 
that  it  will  run  away ;  and  the  eye  of  a  friend,  or  the 
remark  of  a  little  boy,  will  make  him  as  wretched  as  if 
he  were  lashed  to  the  back  of  the  great  red  dragon. 
But  when  a  man  is  well  used  to  mount  he  knows  no 
dangers,  and  he  meets  with  none,  because  his  courage 
prevents  them.  When  a  speaker  feels,  "  I  am  master  of 
the  situation,"  he  usually  is  so.  His  confidence  averts 
the  disasters  which  trembling  would  be  sure  to  create. 
My  brethren,  if  the  Lord  has  indeed  ordained  you  to 
the  ministry,  you  have  the  best  reasons  for  being  bold 
and  calm,  for  whom  have  you  to  fear  ?  You  have  to 
deliver  your  Lord's  errand  as  he  enables  you,  and  if  this 
be  done,  you  are  responsible  to  no  oixe  but  your  heav- 
enly Master,  who  is  no  liai'sh  judge.     You  do  not  enter 


THE  FACULTY   OF    [MPROMPTU  SPEECH.  245 

the  pulpit  to  shine  as  .an  orator,  or  to  gratify  the  pre- 
dictions of  your  audience  :  you  are  the  messenger  of 
heaven  and  not  the  servants  of  men.*  Kemember  the 
words  of  tlie  Lord  to  Jeremiah,  and  be  afraid  1o  be 
afraid.  ''  Thou  therefore  gird  up  thy  loins,  and  arise, 
and  speak  unto  them  all  that  I  command  thee  :  be  not 
dismayed  at  their  faces,  lest  I  confound  thee  before 
them."  Jer.  i.  17.  Trust  in  the  Holy  Spirit's  present 
help,  and  the  fear  of  man  which  bringeth  a  snare  will 
depart  from  you.  "When  you  are  able  to  feel  at  home  in 
the  pulpit,  and  can  look  round  and  speak  to  the  people 
as  a  brother  talking  to  brethren,  then  you  will  be  able  to 
extemporize,  but  not  till  then.  Bashfulness  and  timidity, 
which  are  so  beautiful  in  our  younger  brethren,  will  be 
succeeded  by  that  true  modesty  which  forgets  self,  and 
is  not  careful  as  to  its  own  reputation  so  long  as  Christ 
is  preached  in  the  most  forcible  manner  at  command. 

In  order  to  the  holy  and  useful  exercise  of  extemporal 
speech,  the  Christian  minister  must  cultivate  a  childlike 
reliance  uj^on  the  immediate  assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
"I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost,"  says  the  Creed.  It  is 
to  be  feared  that  many  do  not  make  this  a  real  article  of 
belief.  To  go  up  and  down  all  the  week  wasting  time, 
and  then  to  cast  ourselves  upon  the  Spirit's  aid,  is 
wicked  presumption,  an  attempt  to  make  the  Lord 
minister  to  our  sloth  and  self-indulgence  ;  but  in  an 
emergency  the  case  is  widely  different.     When  a  man 

*  "  At  first  my  chief  solicitude  used  to  be  what  1  should  find 
to  say  ;  I  hope  it  is  now  rather  that  I  may  not  speak  in  vaiu. 
For  the  Lord  hath  not  sent  me  here  to  acquire  the  character  of  a 
ready  speaker,  but  to  win  souls  to  Christ  and  to  edify  his  people. 
Often  when  I  begin  I  am  at  a  loss  how  I  shall  proceed,  but  one 
thing  insensibly  offers  after  another,  and  in  general  the  best  and 
most  useful  parts  of  ray  sermon  occur  de  novo,  while  I  am  preach> 
ing." — Jtf.'ift  Newton.    "  Letters  to  a  Student  in  Divinity." 


246  LECTUEES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

finds  himself  unayoidably  called  upon  to  speak  witlioui 
any  preparation,  then  he  may  with  fullest  confidence 
east  himself  upon  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  divine  mind 
beyond  a  doubt  comes  into  contact  with  the  human 
intellect,  lifts  it  out  of  its  weakness  and  distraction, 
makes  it  soaring  and  strong,  and  enables  it  both  to 
understand  and  to  express  divine  truth  in  a  manner  far 
beyond  its  unaided  powers.  Such  interpositions,  like 
miracles,  are  not  meant  to  supersede  our  efforts  or 
slacken  our  diligence,  but  are  the  Lord's  assistance 
which  we  may  count  upon  at  an  emergency.  His  Spirit 
will  be  ever  with  us,  but  esi^ecially  under  severe  stress 
of  service.  Earnestly  as  I  advise  you  not  to  try  jiurely 
impromptu  speakmg  more  than  you  are  obliged  to  do, 
till  you  have  become  somewhat  matured  in  your  minis- 
try, I  yet  exhort  you  to  speak  in  that  manner  whenever 
compelled  to  do  so,  believing  that  in  the  self-same  hour 
it  shall  be  given  you  what  you  shall  sj)eak. 

If  you  are  happy  enough  to  acquire  the  power  of  ex- 
temporary speech,  pray  recollect  that  you  may  very 
readily  lose  it.  I  have  been  struck  with  this  in  my  own 
experience,  and  I  refer  to  that  because  it  is  the  best  evi- 
dence that  I  can  give  you.  If  for  two  successive  Sundays 
I  make  my  notes  a  little  longer  and  fuller  than  usual,  I 
find  on  the  third  occasion  that  I  require  them  longer 
still ;  and  I  also  observe  that  if  on  occasions  I  lean  a 
little  more  to  my  recollection  of  my  thoughts,  and  am 
not  so  extemporaneous  as  I  have  been  accustomed  to  be, 
there  is  a  direct  craving  and  even  an  increased  necessity 
for  pre-composition.  If  a  man  begins  to  walk  with  a 
stick  merely  for  a  whim,  he  will  soon  come  to  require  a 
a  stick ;  if  you  indulge  your  eyes  with  spectacles  they 
will  speedily  demand  them  as  a  permanent  appendage  ; 
and  if  you  were  to  walk  with  crutches  for  a  month,  at 


TUE    FACLLTY    OF    IMFKOMl'TU   SPEECH.  ^47 

the  end  of  tlic  time  they  would  be  almost  necessary  to 
your  movements,  although  naturally  your  limbs  might 
be  as  sound  and  healthy  as  any  man's.  111  uses  create 
an  ill  nature.  You  must  continually  practise  extempo- 
rizing, and  if  to  gam  suitable  opportunities  you  should 
fiequently  speak  the  word  in  cottages,  in  the  school- 
rooms of  our  hamlets,  or  to  two  or  three  by  the  wayside, 
your  profiting  shall  be  known  unto  all  men. 

It  may  save  you  mucli  surprise  and  grief  if  you  are 
forewarned,  that  there  will  be  great  variations  in  your 
power  of  utterance.  To-day  your  tongue  may  be  the  pen 
of  a  ready  writer,  to-morrow  your  thoughts  and  words 
may  be  alike  frost-bound.  Living  things  are  sensitive, 
and  are  affected  by  a  variety  of  forces  ;  only  the  merely 
mechanical  can  be  reckoned  upon  with  absolute  certainty. 
Think  it  not  strange  if  you  should  frequently  feel  your- 
self to  have  failed,  nor  wonder  if  it  should  turn  out 
that  at  such  times  you  have  best  succeeded.  You  must 
not  expect  to  become  sufficient  as  of  yourself,  no  habit  or 
exercise  can  render  you  independent  of  divine  assistance; 
and  if  you  have  preached  well  forty-nine  times  when 
called  upon  without  notice,  this  is  no  excuse  for  self-con- 
fidence on  the  fiftieth  occasion,  for  if  the  Lord  should 
leave  you,  you  will  be  at  a  dead  stand.  Your  variable 
moods  of  fluency  and  difficulty,  will  by  God's  grace  tend 
to  keep  you  humbly  looking  up  to  the  strong  for  strength. 

Above  all  things  beware  of  letting  your  tongue  outrun 
your  brains.  Guard  against  a  feeble  fluency,  a  garrulous 
prosiness,  a  facility  of  saying  nothing.  What  a  pleasure 
it  is  10  hear  of  a  brother  breaking  down  who  presumed 
u]ion  his  powers  to  keep  on  when  he  really  had  nothing 
to  say  !  May  such  a  consummation  come  to  all  who  err 
in  that  direction.  My  brethren,  it  is  a  hideous  gift  to 
possess,  to   be  able  to  say  nothing  at  extreme  length. 


248  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

Elongated  nonsense,  paraphrastic  platitude,  wire-drawn 
commonplace,  or  sacred  rliodomontade,  are  common 
enough,  and  are  tlie  scandal  and  shame  of  extemporiz- 
ing. Even  when  sentiments  of  no  value  are  beautifully 
expressed,  and  neatly  worded,  what  is  the  use  of  them  ? 
Out  of  nothing  comes  nothing.  Extemporary  speech 
Avithout  study  is  a  cloud  without  rain,  a  well  without 
water,  a  fatal  gift,  injurious  equally  to  its  possessor  and 
his  flock.  Men  have  applied  to  me  whom  I  have  denied 
admission  to  this  College,  because  being  utterly  destitute 
both  of  education  and  of  a  sense  of  their  own  ignorance, 
their  boundless  conceit  and  enormous  volubility  made 
them  dangerous  subjects  for  training.  Some  have  even 
reminded  me  of  the  serpent  in  the  Apocalypse,  which  cast 
out  of  his  mouth  Avater  as  a  flood  so  plenteously  that  the 
woman  was  likely  to  have  been  carried  away  with  it. 
"Wound  up  like  clocks,  they  keep  on,  and  on,  and  on,  till 
they  run  down,  aud  blessed  is  he  who  has  least  acquaint- 
ance with  them.  The  sermons  of  such  jireachers  are 
like  Snug  the  joiner's  part  when  he  acted  the  lion.  ' '  You 
may  do  it  extempore,  for  it  is  nothing  but  roaring."  Bet- 
ter to  lose,  or  rather  never  to  possess,  the  gift  of  ready 
utterance,  than  to  degrade  ourselves  into  mere  noise 
makers,  the  living  representations  of  Paul's  sounding 
brass  and  tinkling  cymbal. 

I  might  have  said  much  more  if  I  had  extended  the 
subject  to  what  is  usualUj  called  extempore  preaching, 
that  is  to  say,  the  preparation  of  the  sermon  so  far  as 
thoughts  go,  and  leaving  the  words  to  be  found  during 
delivery;  but  this  is  quite  another  matter,  and  although 
looked  upon  as  a  groat  attainment  by  some,  it  is,  as  I 
believe,  an  indispensable  requisite  for  the  pulpit,  and  by 
no  means  a  mere  luxury  of  talent ;  but  of  this  we  will 
speak  on  another  occasion. 


LECTURE   XL 

THE  MINISTER'S  FAINTING  FITS. 

As  it  is  recorded  that  David,  in  the  heat  of  battle, 
waxed  faint,  so  may  it  be  written  of  all  the  servants  of 
the  Lord.  Fits  of  depression  come  over  the  most  of  ns. 
Usually  cheerful  as  we  may  be,  we  must  at  intervals  be 
cast  down.  The  strong  are  not  always  vigorous,  the 
wise  not  ahvays  ready,  the  brave  not  always  courageous, 
and  the  joyous  not  always  liappy.  There  may  be  here 
and  there  men  of  iron,  to  whom  wear  and  tear  work  no 
l^erceptible  detriment,  but  surely  the  rust  frets  even 
these  ;  and  as  for  ordinary  men,  the  Lord  knows,  and 
makes  them  to  know,  that  they  are  but  dust.  Knowing 
by  most  painful  experience  what  deep  depression  of  spirit 
means,  being  visited  therewith  at  seasons  by  no  means 
few  or  far  between,  I  thought  it  might  be  consolatory  to 
some  of  my  brethren  if  I  gave  my  thoughts  thereon, 
that  younger  men  might  not  fancy  that  some  strange 
thing  had  happened  to  them  when  they  became  for  a 
season  possessed  by  melancholy  ;  and  that  sadder  men 
might  know  that  one  upon  whom  the  sun  has  shone 
right  joyously  did  not  always  walk  in  the  light. 

It  is  not  necessary  by  quotations  from  the  biographies 
of  eminent  ministers  to  prove  that  seasons  of  fearful 
prostration  have  fallen  to  the  lot  of  most,  if  not  all  of 
them.  The  life  of  Luther  might  suffice  to  give  a  thou- 
sand instances,  and  he  was  by  no  means  of  the  weaker 
sort.     His  great  spirit  was  often  in  the  seventh  heaven 


250  LECTUllES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

of  exultation,  and  as  frequently  on  the  borders  of  de- 
spair. His  very  death-bed  was  not  free  from  tempests, 
and  he  sobbed  himself  into  his  last  sleep  like  a  great 
■wearied  child.  Instead  of  multiplying  cases,  let  us 
dwell  upon  the  reasons  Avhy  these  things  are  permitted  ; 
why  it  is  that  the  children  of  light  sometimes  walk  in 
the  thick  darkness  ;  why  the  heralds  of  the  daybreak 
find  themselves  at  times  in  tenfold  night. 

Is  it  not  first  that  ilLey  are  men  ?  Being  men,  they 
are  com'passed  with  infirmity,  and  heirs  of  sorrow. 
Well  said  the  wise  man  in  tlie  Apocrypha,*  "  Great 
travail  is  created  for  all  men,  and  heavy  yoke  on  the 
sons  of  Adam,  from  the  day  that  they  go  out  of  their 
mother's  womb  unto  that  day  that  they  return  to  the 
mother  of  all  things — namely,  their  thoughts  and  fear 
of  their  hearts,  and  their  imagination  of  things  that 
tliey  Avail  for,  and  the  day  of  death.  From  him  that 
sitteth  in  the  glorious  throne,  to  him  that  sitteth  be- 
neatli  in  the  earth  and  ashes  :  from  him  that  is  clothed 
in  blue  silk,  and  weareth  a  crown,  to  him  that  is  clothed 
in  simple  linen — wrath,  envy,  trouble,  and  unquietness, 
and  fear  of  death  and  rigor,  and  such  things  come  to 
both  man  and  beast,  but  sevenfold  to  the  ungodly."' 
Gi'ace  guards  us  from  much  of  this,  but  because  we  have 
not  more  of  grace  we  still  suffer  even  from  ills  preventi- 
ble.  Even  under  the  economy  of  redemption  it  is  most 
clear  that  we  are  to  endure  infirmities,  otherwise  there 
Avore  no  need  of  the  promised  Spirit  to  help  us  in  them. 
It  is  of  need  be  that  we  are  sometimes  in  heaviness. 
Good  men  are  promised  tribulation  in  this  Avorld,  and 
ministers  may  expect  a  larger  share  than  others,  tfiat 
they  may  learn  sympathy  with  the  Lord's  suffering  peo- 
ple, aud  so  may  be  fitting  shepherds  of  an  ailing  flock. 

*  Ecclus  xl.  1,  3,  3.  4,  5-8. 


TUE   minister's    FAINTIJsG   FITS.  251 

Disembodied  spirits  might  have  been  sent  to  proclaim 
the  Avord,  but  tliey  could  not  have  entered  into  the  feel- 
ings of  those  who,  being  in  this  body,  do  groan,  being 
burdened  ;  angels  might  have  been  ordained  evangelists, 
but  their  celestial  attributes  would  have  disqualified 
them  from  having  compassion  on  the  ignorant ;  men  of 
marble  might  have  been  fashioned,  but  their  impassive 
natures  would  have  been  a  sarcasm  upon  our  feebleness, 
and  a  mockery  of  our  wants.  Men,  and  men  subject  to 
human  passions,  the  all-wise  God  has  chosen  to  be  his 
vessels  of  gi-ace  ;  hence  these  tears,  hence  these  perplex- 
ities and  castings  down. 

Moreover,  most  of  us  arc  in  some  ivay  or  other  U7i- 
soiDid phi/sicalli/.  Here  and  there  we  meet  with  an  old 
man  who  could  not  remember  that  ever  he  was  laid 
aside  for  a  day  ;  but  the  great  mass  of  us  labor  under 
some  form  or  other  of  infirmity,  either  in  body  or  mind. 
Certain  bodily  maladies,  especially  those  connected  with 
the  digestive  organs,  the  liver,  and  the  spleen,  are  the 
fruitful  fountains  of  despondency  ;  and,  let  a  man  strive 
as  he  may  against  their  influence,  there  will  be  hours 
and  circumstances  in  which  they  will  for  awhile  over- 
come him.  As  to  mental  maladies,  is  any  man  alto- 
gether sane  ?  Are  we  not  all  a  little  off  the  balance  ? 
Some  minds  appear  to  have  a  gloomy  tinge  essential  to 
their  very  individuality  ;  of  them  it  may  be  said,  "  Mel- 
ancholy marked  them  for  her  own  ; "  fine  minds  withal, 
and  ruled  by  noblest  principles,  but  yet  most  prone  to 
forget  the  silver  lining,  and  to  remember  only  the  cloud. 
Such  men  may  sing  with  the  old  poet — * 

"  Our  hearts  are  broke,  our  harps  unstringed  be. 
Our  only  music's  sighs  and  groans, 
Our  songs  are  to  the  tune  of  lachrymm. 
We're  fretted  all  to  skin  and  bones  " 

*  Thomas  Washbourne. 


352  LECTURES  TO   ilT   STUDE2^TS. 

These  infirmities  may  be  no  detriment  to  a  man's  career 
of  special  usefulness  ;  they  may  even  have  been  imposed 
npon  him  by  divine  wisdom  as  necessary  qualifications  for 
his  peculiar  course  of  service.  Some  plants  owe  their 
medicinal  qualities  to  the  marsh  in  which  they  grow  ; 
others  to  the  shades  in  Avhich  alone  they  flourish.  There 
are  precious  fruits  put  forth  by  the  moon  as  well  as  by 
the  sun.  Boats  needs  ballast  as  well  as  sail ;  a  drag  on 
the  carriage-wheel  is  no  hindrance  when  the  road  runs 
downhill.  Pain  has,  probably,  in  some  cases  developed 
genius  ;  hunting  out  the  soul  which  otherwise  might 
have  slept  like  a  lion  in  its  den.  Had  it  not  been  for 
tlie  broken  wing,  some  might  have  lost  themselves  in 
the  clouds,  some  even  of  those  choice  doves  who  now 
bear  the  olive-branch  in  their  mouths  and  show  the  way 
to  the  ark.  But  where  in  body  and  mind  they  are  pre- 
disposing causes  to  lowness  of  spirit,  it  is  no  marvel  if 
in  dark  moments  the  heart  succumbs  to  them  ;  the  won- 
der in  many  cases  is — and  if  inner  lives  could  be  written, 
men  would  see  it  so — how  some  ministers  keep  at  their 
work  at  all,  and  still  wear  a  smile  upon  their  counte- 
nances. Grace  has  its  triumph  still,  and  patience  has  its 
martyrs ;  martyrs  none  the  less  to  be  honored  because 
the  flames  kindle  about  their  spirits  rather  than  their 
bodies,  and  their  burning  is  unseen  of  human  eyes.  The 
ministries  of  Jeremiahs  are  as  acceptable  as  those  of 
Isaiahs,  and  even  the  sullen  Jonah  is  a  true  prophet  of 
the  Lord,  as  Nineveh  felt  full  well.  Despise  not  the 
lame,  for  it  is  written  that  they  take  the  prey  ;  but  honor 
those  who,  being  faint,  are  yet  pursuing.  The  tender- 
eyed  Leah  was  more  fruitful  than  the  beautiful  Eachel, 
and  Ihe  griefs  of  Hannah  were  more  divine  than  tlie 
boastings  of  Peninnah.  "  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn,'' 
Baid  the  Man  of   Sorrows,  and  let  none  account  tluin 


THE   Mlis'ISTER's   FAINTING   FITS.  253 

other-wise  when  tlieir  tears  are  salted  with  grace.  We 
have  the  treasure  of  the  gospel  in  earthen  vessels,  and 
if  there  be  a  flaw  in  the  vessel  here  and  there,  let  none 
wonder. 

Our  ivorlc,  tolien  earnestly  undertaken,  lays  ns  open 
to  attacks  in  the  direction  of  depression.  Who  can  bear 
the  weight  of  souls  Avithout  sinking  to  the  dust  ?  Pas- 
sionate longings  after  men's  conversion,  if  not  fully  satis- 
fied (and  when  are  they  ?),  consume  the  soul  with 
anxiety  and  disappointment.  To  see  the  hopeful  turn 
aside,  the  godly  grow  cold,  professors  abusing  their  priv- 
ileges, and  sinners  Avaxing  more  bold  in  sin — are  not 
these  sights  enough  to  crush  us  to  the  earth  ?  The  king- 
dom comes  not  as  we  would,  the  reverend  name  is  not 
hallowed  as  we  desire,  and  for  this  we  must  weep. 
How  can  we  be  otherwise  than  sorrowful,  while  men  be- 
lieve not  our  report,  and  the  divine  arm  is  not  revealed  ? 
All  mental  work  tends  to  weary  and  to  depress,  for  much 
study  is  a  Aveariness  of  the  flesh  ;  but  ours  is  more  than 
mental  work — it  is  heart  work,  the  labor  of  our  inmost 
soul.  How  often,  on  Lord's-day  evenings,  do  we  feel  as 
if  life  Avere  completely  Avashed  out  of  us  !  After  pouring 
out  our  souls  over  our  congregations,  we  feel  like  empty 
earthen  pitchers  wliich  a  child  might  break.  Probably, 
if  Ave  were  more  like  Paul,  and  watched  for  souls  at  a 
nobler  rate,  we  should  knoAV  more  of  what  it  is  to  be 
eaten  up  by  the  zeal  of  the  Lord's  house.  It  is  our  duty 
and  our  privilege  to  exhaust  our  lives  for  Jesus.  We 
are  not  to  be  living  specimens  of  men  in  fine  preserva- 
tion, but  living  sacrifices,  Avhose  lot  is  to  be  consumed  ; 
we  are  to  spend  and  to  be  spent,  not  to  lay  ourselves  up 
in  lavender,  and  nurse  our  flesh.  Such  soul-travail  as 
that  of  a  faithful  minister  will  bring  on  occasional  seasons 
of  exhaustion,  when  heart  and  flesh  Avill  fail.     Moses' 


254  LECTURES   TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

hands  grew  heavy  in  intercession,  and  Paul  cried  ont, 
''Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?"  Even  John  the 
Baptist  is  thought  to  have  had  his  fainting  fits,  and  the 
apostles  were  once  amazed,  and  were  sore  afraid. 

Our  position  in  the  church  mil  also  conduce  to  this. 
A  minister  fully  equipped  for  his  work  will  usually  be 
a  spirit  by  himself,  above,  beyond,  and  apart  from 
others.  The  most  loving  of  his  people  cannot  enter  into 
his  peculiar  thoughts,  cares,  and  temptations.  In  the 
ranks,  men  walk  shoulder  to  shoulder,  with  many  com- 
rades, but  as  the  officer  rises  in  rank,  men  of  his  stand- 
ing are  fewer  in  number.  There  arc  many  soldiers,  few 
captains,  fewer  colonels,  but  only  one  commander-in- 
chief.  So,  in  our  churches,  the  man  whom  the  Lord 
raises  as  a  leader  becomes,  in  the  same  degree  in  which 
he  is  a  superior  man,  a  solitary  man.  The  mountain- 
tops  stand  solemnly  ajoart,  and  talk  only  with  God  as  he 
visits  their  terrible  solitudes.  Men  of  God  who  rise 
above  their  fellows  into  nearer  communion  with  heavenly 
things,  in  their  weaker  moments  feel  the  lack  of  human 
sympathy.  Like  their  Lord  in  Gethsemane,  they  look 
in  vain  for  comfort  to  the  disciples  sleeping  around  them  ; 
they  are  shocked  at  the  apathy  of  their  little  band  of 
brethren,  and  return  to  their  secret  agony  with  all  the 
heavier  harden  pressing  upon  them,  because  they  have 
found  their  dearest  companions  slumbering.  No  one 
knows,  but  he  who  has  endured  it,  tlie  solitude  of  a  soul 
which  has  outstripped  its  fellows  in  zeal  for  the  Lord  of 
hosts  :  it  dares  not  reveal  itself,  lest  men  count  it  mad  ; 
it  cannot  conceal  itself,  for  a  fire  burns  within  its  bones  • 
only  before  the  Lord  does  it  find  rest.  Our  Lord's 
sending  out  his  disciples  by  tAvo  and  tAvo  manifested  that 
lie  knew  what  Avas  in  men  ;  but  for  such  a  man  as  Paul, 
it  seems  to  me  that  no  helpmeet  was  found  ;  Barnabas, 


THE   minister's   FAINTING   FITS.  255 

or  Silas,  or  Luke,  were  hills  too  low  to  liold  high  con- 
verse "with  such  a  Himalayan  summit  as  the  apostle  of 
the  Gentiles.  This  loneliness,  Avhicli  if  I  mistake  not  is 
felt  by  many  of  my  brethren,  is  a  fertile  source  of  de 
pression  ;  and  our  ministers'  fraternal  meetings,  and  the 
cultivation  of  holy  intercourse  with  kindred  minds,  will, 
with  God's  blessing,  help  us  gi'eatly  to  escape  the  snare. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  ihatscdcntari/  habits  have  a 
tendency  to  create  despondency  in  some  constitutions. 
Burton,  in  his  "  Anatomy  of  Melancholy,"  has  a  chapter 
upon  this  cause  of  sadness ;  and,  quoting  from  one  of 
the  myriad  authors  whom  he  lays  under  contribution, 
he  says — "  Students  are  negligent  of  their  bodies. 
Other  men  look  to  their  tools  ;  a  painter  will  wash  his 
pencils  ;  a  smith  Avill  look  to  his  hammer,  anvil,  forge ; 
a  husbandman  will  mend  his  plough-irons,  and  grind  his 
hatchet  if  it  be  dull  ;  a  falconer  or  huntsman  will  have 
an  especial  care  of  his  hawks,  hounds,  horses,  dogs,  etc. ; 
a  musician  will  string  and  unstring  his  lute  ;  only  schol- 
ars neglect  that  instrument  (their  brain  and  spirits  I 
mean)  which  they  daily  use.  Well  saith  Lucan,  '  See 
thou  twist  not  the  rope  so  hard  that  it  break.'"  To  sit 
long  in  one  posture,  poring  over  a  book,  or  driving  a 
quill,  is  in  itself  a  taxing  of  nature  ;  but  add  to  this 
a  badly-ventilated  chamber,  a  body  which  has  loug  been 
without  muscular  exercise,  and  a  heart  burdened  witli 
many  cares,  and  we  have  all  the  elements  for  preparing 
a  seething  cauldron  of  desjjair,  especially  in  the  dim 
months  of  fog — 

"  When  a  blanket  wraps  the  day. 
When  the  rotteu  woodland  dripa, 
And  the  leaf  is  stamped  in  clay." 

Let  a  man  be  naturally  as  blithe  as  a  bird,  he  will 
hardly  be  able  to  bear  up  year  after  year  against  such  u 


256  LECTURES  TO   MY    STUDElS*TS. 

suicidal  process  ;  he  will  make  his  study  a  prison  a  ad  hia 
hooks  the  warders  of  a  gaol,  Avhile  nature  lies  outside  his 
window  calling  him  to  health  and  beckoning  him  to 
joy.  He  who  forgets  the  humming  of  the  bees  amoug 
the  heather,  the  cooing  of  the  wood-pigeons  in  the 
forest,  the  song  of  birds  in  the  woods,  the  rippling 
of  rills  among  the  rushes,  and  the  sigliing  of  the  wind 
among  the  pines,  needs  not  wonder  if  his  heart  forgets 
to  sing  and  his  soul  grows  heavy.  A  day's  breathing  of 
fresh  air  upon  the  hills,  or  a  few  hours'  ramble  in  the 
beech  woods'  umbrageous  calm,  would  sweep  the  cob- 
webs out  of  the  brain  of  scores  of  our  toiling  ministers 
who  are  now  but  half  alive.  A  mouthful  of  sea  air,  or 
a  stiff  walk  in  tlie  wind's  face,  would  not  give  grace  to 
the  soul,  but  it  would  yield  oxygen  to  the  body,  which  is 
next  best. 

"Heaviest the  heart  is  in  a  heavy  air, 
Ev'ry  wind  that  rises  blows  away  despair." 

The  ferns  and  the  rabbits,  the  streams  and  the  trout, 
the  fir  trees  and  the  squirrels,  the  primroses  and  the 
Tiolets,  the  farm-yard,  the  new-mown  hay,  and  the 
fragrant  hops — these  are  the  best  medicines  for  hypo- 
cliondriacs,  the  surest  tonics  for  the  declining,  the  best 
refreshments  for  the  weary.  For  lack  of  opportunity, 
or  inclination,  these  great  remedies  are  neglected,  and 
the  student  becomes  a  self-immolated  victim. 

Tlie  times  most  favorable  to  fits  of  depression,  so  far 
as  I  have  experienced,  may  be  summed  up  in  a  brief 
catalogue.  First  among  them  I  muii  mention  the  hour 
of  great  success.  When  at  last  a  long-cherished  desire  ia 
fulfilled,  when  God  has  been  glorified  greatly  by  our 
means,  and  a  great  triumph  achieved,  then  we  are  apt 
to  faint.  It  might  be  imagined  that  amid  special  favors 
onr  soul  would  soar  to  heights  of  ecstasy,  and  rejoice 


THE    minister's   FAINTING    FITS.  257 

witli  joy  unspeiikable,  but  it  is  generally  the   reverse. 
The  Lord  seldom  exposes  his  Avarriors  to  the  perils  of 
exultation  over  victory  ;  he  knows  that  few  of  them  can 
endure  such  a  test,  and  therefore  dashes  their  cup  with 
bitterness.     See  Elias  after  the  fire  has  fallen    from 
lieaven,  after  Baal's  priests  have  been  slaughtered  and 
the  rain  has  deluged  the  barren  land  !     For   him   no 
notes  of  self-complacent  music,  no  strutting  like  a  con- 
queror in  robes  of  triumph  ;  he  flees  from  Jezebel,  and 
feeling  the  revulsion  of  his  intense  excitement,  he  prays 
that  he  may  die.     lie  who  must  never  see  death,  yearns 
after  the  rest  of  the  grave,  even  as  Caesar,  the  world's 
monarch,  in  his  moments  of  pain  cried  like  a  sick  girl. 
Poor  human  nature  cannot  bear  such  strains  as  heavenly 
triumphs   bring  to  it ;  there   must   come   a    reaction. 
Excess  of  joy  or  excitement  must  be  paid  for  by  subse- 
quent depressions.     While  th.e  trial  lasts,  the  strength  is 
equal  to  the  emergency ;  but  when  it  is   over,  naturtU 
weakness  claims  the  right  to  show    itself.      Secretly 
sustained,  Jacob  can  wrestle   all  night,   but  he   must 
limp  in  the  morning  when  the  contest  is  over,  lest  he 
boast  himself  beyond  measure.     Paul  may  be  caught  up 
to  the  third  heaven,  and  hear  unspeakable  things,  but  a 
thorn  in  the  flesh,  a  messenger  of  Satan  to  buffet  him, 
must  be  the  inevitable  sequel.     Men  cannot  bear  unal- 
loyed happiness  ;  even  good  men  are  not  yet  fit  to  have 
"  their  brows  with  laurel  and  myrtle  bound,"  without 
enduring  secret  humiliation  to  keep  them  in  their  proper 
place.     Whirled  from  off  our  feet  by  a  revival,  carried 
aloft  by  popularity,  exalted  by  success  in  soul-winning, 
we  should  be  as  the  chaff  which  the  wind  driveth  away, 
■were  it  not  that  the  gracious  discipline  of  mercy  breaks 
the  ships  of  our  vainglory  with  a  strong  east  wind,  and 


258  LECTURES   TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

casts   ns   sliipAvreeked,    naked   and   forlorn,  upon    the 
Ilock  of  As^es. 

Before  any  great  aclUevement,  some  measure  of  tlie 
same  depression  is  very  usual.  Surveying  the  difficulties 
before  us,  our  hearts  sink  within  vis.  The  sons  of  Anak 
stalk  before  us,  and  we  are  as  grasshoppers  in  our  own 
sight  in  their  presence.  The  cities  of  Canaan  are  walled 
up  to  heaven,  and  who  are  Ave  that  we  should  hope  to 
capture  them  ?  We  are  ready  to  cast  down  our  weapons 
and  take  to  our  heels.  Nineveh  is  a  great  city,  and  we 
would  flee  unto  Tarshish  sooner  than  encounter  its  noisy 
crowds.  Already  we  look  for  a  ship  which  may  bear  us 
quietly  away  from  the  terrible  scene,  and  only  a  dread  of 
tempest  restrains  our  recreant  footstei^s.  Such  was  my 
experience  Avhen  I  first  became  a  pastor  in  London.  My 
success  appalled  me  ;  and  the  thought  of  the  career  whicli 
it  seemed  to  open  up,  so  far  from  elating  me,  cast  me 
into  the  lowest  depth,  out  of  whicli  I  uttered  my  miserere 
and  found  no  room  for  a  gloria  in  excelsis.  Who  was  I 
that  I  should  continue  to  lead  so  great  a  multitude  ?  I 
would  betake  me  to  my  village  obscurity,  or  emigrate  to 
America,  and  find  a  solitary  nest  in  the  backwoods,  where 
I  might  be  sufficient  for  the  things  which  would  bo  de- 
manded of  me.  It  was  just  then  that  the  curtain  was 
rising  upon  my  life-work,  and  I  dreaded  what  it  might 
reveal.  I  hope  I  was  not  faithless,  but  I  was  timorous 
and  filled  with  a  sense  of  my  OAvn  unfitness.  I  dreaded 
the  work  which  a  gracious  providence  had  prepared  for 
me.  I  felt  myself  a  mere  cliild,  and  trembled  as  I  heard 
the  voice  which  said,  "Arise,  and  thresh  the  mountains, 
and  make  them  as  chaff."  This  depression  comes  ovei 
me  whenever  the  Lord  is  preparing  a  larger  blessing  for 
my  ministry  ;  the  cloud  is  black  before  it  breaks,  and 
o^  ershadows  before  it  yields  its  deluge  of  mercy.     Dcpres- 


THE   minister's   FAIXTINQ    FITS.  259 

sioa  has  now  become  to  me  as  a  prophet  in  rougli  cloth- 
ing, a  Jolin  the  Baptist,  lierakling  the  nearer  coming  of 
my  Lord's  richer  benison.  So  haA'e  far  better  men  found 
it.  The  scouring  of  the  vessel  has  fitted  it  for  the  Master's 
use.  Immersion  in  suffering  has  preceded  the  baptism 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Fasting  gives  an  appetite  for  the 
banquet.  The  Lord  is  revealed  in  the  backside  of  the 
desert,  while  his  servant  keepeth  the  sheep  and  waits  in 
solitary  awe.  The  wilderness  is  the  way  to  Canaan. 
The  low  valley  leads  to  the  towering  mountain.  Defeat 
prepares  for  victory.  The  raven  is  sent  forth  before  the 
dove.  The  darkest  hour  of  the  night  precedes  the  day- 
dawn.  The  mariners  go  down  to  the  depths,  but  the 
next  wave  makes  them  mount  to  the  heaven  ;  their  soul 
is  melted  because  of  trouble  before  he  bringeth  them  to 
their  desired  haven. 

In  the  7)iidsi  of  a  long  stretch  of  unhroTcen  labor,  the 
same  affliction  may  be  looked  for.  The  bow  cannot  be 
always  bent  without  fear  of  breaking.  Rei^ose  is  as  need- 
ful to  the  mind  as  sleep  to  the  body.  Our  Sabbaths  are 
our  days  of  toil,  and  if  we  do  not  rest  uj)on  some  other 
day  we  shall  break  down.  Even  the  earth  must  lie  fal- 
low and  have  her  Sabbaths,  and  so  must  we.  Hence  the 
wisdom  and  compassion  of  our  Lord,  when  he  said  to  his 
disciples,  "Let  us  go  into  the  desert  and  rest  awhile." 
What !  when  the  people  are  fainting  ?  When  the  multi- 
tudes are  like  sheep  upon  the  mountains  without  a  sliep- 
herd  ?  Does  Jesus  talk  of  rest  ?  When  Scribes  and 
Pharisees,  like  grievous  Avolves,  are  rending  the  flock, 
does  he  take  his  followers  on  an  excursion  into  a  quiet 
resting  place  ?  Does  some  red-hot  zealot  denounce  such 
atrocious  forgetfulness  of  present  and  pressing  demands? 
Let  him  rave  in  his  folly.  The  Master  knows  better 
than  to  exhaust  his  servants  and  quench  the  light  of 


S60  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

Israel.  Rest  time  is  not  waste  time.  It  is  economy  to 
gather  fresh  strength.  Look  at  the  moAver  in  tlie  sum- 
mer's clay,  with  so  much  to  cut  down  ere  the  sun  sets. 
^lle  pauses  in  his  hibor — is  he  a  sluggard?  lie  looks 
for  Iiis  stone,  and  begins  to  draw  it  up  and  down  his 
scythe,  witli  "  rink-a-tink — rink-a-tink — rink-a-tink." 
Is  that  idle  music — is  he  wasting  precious  moments  ? 
How  much  he  might  have  mowed  while  he  has  been  ring- 
ing out  those  notes  on  his  scythe  !  But  he  is  sharpen- 
ing his  tool,  and  he  will  do  far  more  when  once  again  he 
gives  his  strength  to  those  long  sweeps  whicli  lay  the 
grass  prostrate  in  rows  before  him.  Even  thus  a  little 
jmuse  prepares  the  mind  for  greater  service  in  the  good 
cause.  Fishermen  must  mend  their  nets,  and  we  must 
every  now  and  then  repair  our  mental  waste  and  set  our 
machinery  in  order  for  future  service.  To  tug  the  oar 
from  day  to  day,  like  a  galley-slave  who  knows  no  holi- 
days, suits  not  mortal  men.  Mill-streams  go  on  and  on 
for  ever,  but  we  must  have  our  pauses  and  our  intervals. 
Who  can  help  being  out  of  breath  when  the  race  is  con- 
tinued Avithout  intermission  ?  Even  beasts  of  burden 
must  be  turned  out  to  grass  occasionally  ;  the  very  sea 
pauses  at  ebb  and  flood  ;  earth  keeps  the  Sabbath  of  the 
wintry  months;  and  man,  even  when  exalted  to  be  God's 
ambassador,  must  rest  or  faint;  must  trim  his  lamp  or 
let  it  burn  low  ;  must  recruit  his  vigour  or  grow  prem- 
aturely old.  It  is  Avisdoni  to  take  occasional  furlough. 
In  the  long  run,  we  shall  do  more  by  sometimes  doing 
less.  On,  on,  on,  for  ever,  without  recreation,  may  suit 
spirits  emancipated  from  this  '' lieaA^y  clay,"  but  while, 
we  are  in  this  tabernacle,  we  must  every  now  and  then 
cry  halt,  and  serve  the  Lord  by  holy  inaction  and  con- 
secrated leisure.  Let  no  tender  conscience  doubt  the 
lawfulness  of  going  out  of  harness  for  awhile,  but  learn 


THE   minister's   FAINTING   FITS.  261 

from  the  experience  of  others  the  necessity  and  duty  of 
taking  timely  rest. 

One  crushing  strol'c  has  sometimes  laid  the  minister 
very  low.  The  brother  most  relied  upon  becomes  a 
traitor.  Judas  lifts  up  his  heel  against  the  man  who 
trusted  him,  and  the  preacher's  heart  for  the  moment 
fails  him.  We  are  all  too  apt  to  look  to  an  arm  of  flesh, 
and  from  that  propensity  many  of  our  sorrows  arise. 
Equally  overwhelming  is  the  blow  when  an  honored  and 
beloved  member  yields  to  temptation,  and  disgraces  the 
holy  name  with  which  he  was  named.  Anything  is 
better  than  this.  This  makes  the  preacher  long  for  a 
lodge  in  some  vast  wilderness,  where  he  may  hide  his 
head  for  ever,  and  hear  no  more  the  Idasphomous  Jeers 
of  the  ungodly.  Ten  years  of  toil  do  not  take  so  much 
life  out  of  us  as  we  lose  in  a  few  hours  by  Ahithophel 
the  traitor,  or  Demas  the  apostate.  Strife,'  also,  and 
division,  and  slander,  and  foolish  censures,  have  often 
laid  holy  men  prostrate,  and  made  them  go  ''as  with  a 
sword  in  their  bones."  Hard  words  wound  some  deli- 
cate minds  very  keenly.  Many  of  the  best  of  ministers, 
from  the  very  spirituality  of  their  character,  are  exceed- 
ingly sensitive — too  sensitive  for  such  a  world  as  this. 
"  A  kick  that  scarce  would  move  a  horse  would  kill  a 
sound  divine."  By  experience  the  soul  is  hardened  to  the 
rough  blows  which  are  inevitable  in  our  warfare  :  but  at 
first  these  things  utterly  stagger  us,  and  send  us  to  our 
homes  wrapped  in  a  horror  of  great  darkness.  The 
trials  of  a  true  minister  are  not  few,  and  such  as  are 
caused  by  ungrateful  professors  are  harder  to  bear  than 
the  coarsest  attacks  of  avowed  enemies.  Let  no  man 
who  looks  for  ease  of  mind  and  seeks  the  quietude  of 
life  enter  the  ministry  ;  if  he  does  so  he  will  flee  from  it 
in  disgust. 


2G2  LECTURES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

To  the  lot  of  few  does  it  full  to  pass  through  snch  a 
horror  of  great  darkness  as  that  which  fell  upon  me 
after  the  deplorable  accident  at  the  Surrey  Music  Hall. 
I  was  pressed  beyond  measure  and  out  of  bounds  wi-th 
an  enormous  weight  of  misery.  The  tumult,  the  panic, 
tlie  deaths,  were  day  and  night  before  me,  and  made  life 
a  burden.     Then  I  sang  in  my  sorrow — - 

"  The  tumult  of  my  tliouglita 
Dotli  but  increase  my  woe. 
My  spirit  langaishetli,  my  heart 
Is  desolate  and  low." 

From  that  dream  of  horror  I  was  awakened  in  a  moment 
by  the  gracious  application  to  my  soul  of  the  text, 
''Him  hath  God  the  Father  exalted."  The  fact  that 
Jesus  is  still  great,  let  his  serA'ants  suffer  as  they  may, 
piloted  me  back  to  calm  reason  and  peace.  Should  so 
terrible  a  calamity  overtake  any  of  my  brethren,  let 
them  both  patiently  hope  and  quietly  wait  for  the  salva- 
tion of  God. 

Whe7i  troubles  muUipiT/,  and  discouragements  follow 
each  other  in  long  succession,  like  Job's  messengers, 
then,  too,  amid  the  perturbation  of  soul  occasioned  by 
eA'il  tidings,  despondency  despoils  the  heart  of  all  its 
peace.  Constant  dropping  wears  away  stones,  and  the 
bravest  minds  feel  the  fret  of  repeated  afflictions.  If  a 
scanty  cupboard  is  rendered  a  severer  trial  by  the  sick- 
ness of  a  wife  or  the  loss  of  a  child,  and  if  ungenerous 
remarks  of  hearers  are  followed  by  the  opi^osition  of 
deacons  and  the  coolness  of  members,  then,  like  Jacob, 
we  are  apt  to  cry,  "All  these  things  are  against  me." 
When  David  returned  to  Ziklag  and  found  the  city 
burned,  goods  stolen,  wives  carried  off,  and  his  troops 
ready  to  stone  him,  we  read,  "  he  encouraged  himself  in 
his  God  ;"  and  M-ell  was  it  for  him  that  he  could  do  sn, 


THE   minister's   FAINTING    FITS.  263 

for  lie  would  then  have  fainted  if  lie  lind  not  oelieved 
to  see  the  goodness  of  the  Lord  in  tlie  Lmd  of  the  living. 
Accumnlated  distresses  increase  each  other's  weight ; 
they  play  into  each  other's  hands,  and,  like  bands  of 
robbers,  ruthlessly  destroy  our  comfort.  Wave  u]ioii 
wave  is  severe  work  for  the  strongest  swimmer.  The 
place  where  two  seas  meet  strains  the  most  seaworthy 
keel.  If  there  were  a  well-regulated  pause  between  the 
buffetings  of  adversity,  the  spirit  would  stand  prepared  ; 
but  Avhcn  they  come  suddenly  and  heavily,  like  the  bat- 
tering of  great  hailstones,  the  pilgrim  may  Avell  be 
amazed.  The  last  ounce  breaks  the  camel's  back,  and 
when  that  last  ounce  is  laid  upon  us,  Avhat  wonder  if  we 
for  awhile  are  ready  to  give  up  the  ghost ! 

Tills  evil  will  also  come  upon  iis,  ice  Tcnow  not  why,  and 
then  it  is  all  the  more  diflBcult  to  drive  it  away.  Cause- 
less depression  is  not  to  be  reasoned  with,  nor  can  David's 
harp  charm  it  away  by  sweet  discoursings.  As  well  fight 
Avitli  the  mist  as  with  this  shapeless,  undefinable,  yet  all- 
beclouding  hopelessness.  One  affords  himself  no  pity 
when  in  this  case,  because  it  seems  so  unreasonable,  and 
even  sinful  to  be  troubled  without  manifest  cause  ;  and 
yet  troubled  the  man  is,  even  in  the  very  depths  of  his 
spirit.  If  tliose  who  laugh  at  such  melancholy  did  but 
feel  the  grief  of  it  for  one  hour,  their  laughter  would  be 
sobered  into  compassion.  Eesolution  might,  perhaps, 
shake  it  off,  but  where  are  we  to  find  the  resolution  when 
the  whole  man  is  unstrung  ?  The  physician  and  the 
divine  may  unite  their  skill  in  such  cases,  and  both  find 
their  hands  full,  and  more  than  full.  The  iron  bolt 
which  so  mysteriously  fastens  the  door  of  hope  and  holds 
our  spirits  in  gloomy  prison,  needs  a  heavenly  hand  to 
push  it  back  ;  and  when  that  hand  is  seen  we  cry  with 
the  apostle,  "  Blessed  be  God,  even  the  Father  of  our 


264  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

Lord  Jesns  Clirist,  tlie  Father  of  mercies,  and  the  God 
of  all  comfort ;  who  comfortcth  us  in  all  our  tribulation, 
that  we  may  be  able  to  comfort  them  which  are  in  a^.y 
trouble,  by  the  comfort  wherewith  we  ourselves  are  com- 
forted of  God."  2  Cor.  i.  3,  4.  It  is  the  God  of  alJ 
consolation  who  can — 

"  With  sweet  oblivious  antidote 
Cleanse  our  poor  bosoms  of  that  perilous  stuff 
Which  weighs  upon  the  heart." 

Simon  sinks  till  Jesus  takes  him  by  the  hand.  The 
devil  within  rends  and  tears  the  poor  child  till  the  word 
of  authority  commands  him  to  come  out  of  him.  When 
we  are  ridden  with  horrible  fears,  and  weighed  down 
with  an  intolerable  incubus,  we  need  but  the  Sun  of 
Eighteousness  to  rise,  and  the  evils  generated  of  our 
dai'kness  are  driven  away  ;  but  nothing  short  of  this  will 
chase  away  the  nightmare  of  the  soul.  Timothy  Eogers, 
the  author  of  a  treatise  on  Melancholy,  and  Simon 
Browne,  the  writer  of  some  remarkably  sweet  hymns, 
proved  in  their  own  cases  how  unavailing  is  the  help  of 
man  if  the  Lord  withdraw  the  light  from  the  soul. 

If  it  be  inquired  why  the  Valley  of  tlie  Shadow  of 
Death  must  so  often  be  traversed  by  the  servants  of 
King  Jesus,  the  answer  is  not  far  to  find.  All  this  is 
promotive  of  the  Lord's  mode  of  working,  which  is 
summed  up  in  these  words — "Not  by  might  nor  by 
power,  but  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord."  Instruments 
shall  be  used,  but  their  intrinsic  weakness  shall  be  clearly 
manifested  ;  there  shall  be  no  division  of  the  glory,  no 
diminishing  the  honor  due  to  the  Great  AYorker.  The 
man  shall  be  emptied  of  self,  and  then  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost.  In  his  own  apprehension  he  shall  be  like 
a  sere  leaf  driven  of   the  tempest,   and  then  shall   be 


THE   minister's   FAINTING   FITS.  2G5 

Btrcngtlietied  into  a  brazen  wall  against  the  enemies  of 
truth.  To  hide  pride  from  the  worker  is  the  great  diffi- 
culty. Uninterrupted  success  and  unfading  joy  in  it 
would  be  more  than  our  weak  heads  could  bear.  Our 
wine  must  needs  be  mixed  Avith  water,  lest  it  tijrn  our 
brains.  My  witness  is,  that  tliose  who  are  honored  of 
their  Lord  in  public,  have  usually  to  endure  a  secret 
cliastening,  or  to  carry  a  peculiar  cross,  lest  by  any 
means  they  exalt  themselves,  and  fall  into  the  snare  of 
the  devil.  How  constantly  the  Lord  calls  Ezekicl  "Son 
of  man  "  !  Amid  his  soarings  into  the  superlative  splen- 
dors, just  when  with  eye  undimmed  he  is  strengthened 
to  gaze  into  the  excellent  glory,  the  word  "  Son  of  man" 
falls  on  his  ears,  sobering  the  heart  which  else  might 
have  been  intoxicated  with  the  honor  conferred  upon  it. 
Such  humbling  but  salutary  messages  our  depressions 
whisper  in  our  ears  ;  they  tell  us  in  a  manner  not  to  be 
mistaken  that  we  arc  but  men,  frail,  feeble,  apt  to  faint. 

By  all  the  castings  down  of  his  servants  God  is  glori- 
fied, for  they  are  led  to  magnify  him  when  again  he  sets 
them  on  their  feet,  and  even  while  prostrate  in  the  dust 
their  faith  yields  him  praise.  They  speak  all  the  more 
sweetly  of  his  faithfulness,  and  are  the  more  firmly 
established  in  his  love.  Such  -mature  men  as  some 
elderly  preachers  are,  could  scarcely  have  been  jDroduced 
if  they  had  not  been  emptied  from  vessel  to  vessel,  and 
made  to  see  their  own  emptiness  and  the  vanity  of  all 
things  round  about  them.  Glory  be  to  God  for  the  fur- 
nace, the  hammer,  and  the  file.  Heaven  shall  be  all  the 
fuller  of  bliss  because  we  have  been  filled  with  anguish 
here  below,  and  earth  shall  be  better  tilled  because  of 
our  training  in  the  school  of  adversity. 

The  lesson  of  wisdom  is,  he  not  dismayed  ly  sotil- 
trouhh.  Count  it  no  strange  thing,  but  a  part  of  ordi- 
12 


266  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDENTS. 

nary  ministerial  experience.  Should  the  power  of  de- 
pression be  more  than  ordinary,  think  not  that  all  is 
over  Avith  yonr  usefulness.  Cast  not  away  your  confi- 
dence, for  it  hath  great  recompense  of  reward.  Even  if 
the  enemy's  foot  be  on  your  neck,  expect  to  rise  and 
overthrow  him.  Cast  the  burden  of  the  present,  along 
with  the  sin  of  the  past  and  the  fear  of  the  future,  upon 
the  Lord,  who  forsake th  not  his  saints.  Live  by  the 
day — ay,  by  the  hour.  Put  no  trust  in  frames  and  feel- 
ings. Care  more  for  a  grain  of  faith  than  a  ton  of  ex- 
citement. Trust  in  God  alone,  and  lean  not  on  the  reeds 
of  human  help.  Be  not  surprised  when  friends  fail  you  : 
it  is  a  failing  world.  Never  count  upon  immutability  in 
man  :  inconstancy  you  may  reckon  ujjon  without  fear  of 
disappointment.  The  disciples  of  Jesus  forsook  liim  ;  be 
not  amazed  if  your  adherents  wander  away  to  other 
teachers  :  as  they  were  not  your  all  when  with  you,  all 
is  not  gone  from  you  with  their  departure.  Serve  God 
with  all  your  might  while  the  candle  is  burning,  and 
then  when  it  goes  out  for  a  season,  you  will  have  the  less 
to  regret.  Be  content  to  be  nothing,  for  that  is  what 
you  are.  "When  your  own  emptiness  is  painfully  forced 
upon  your  consciousness,  chide  yourself  that  yoii  ever 
dreamed  of  being  full,  except  in  the  Lord.  Set  small 
store  by  present  rewards  ;  be  grateful  for  earnests  by  the 
way,  but  look  for  the  recompensing  joy  hereafter.  Con- 
tinue with  double  earnestness  to  serve  your  Lord  when 
no  visible  result  is  before  you.  Any  simpleton  can  folloAV 
the  narrow  path  in  the  light :  faith's  rare  wisdom  enables 
us  to  march  on  in  the  dark  with  infallible  accuracy,  since 
she  places  her  hand  in  that  of  her  Great  Guide.  Between 
this  and  heaven  there  may  be  rougher  weatlier  yet,  but 
it  is  all  provided  for  by  our  covenant  Head.     In  nothing 


THE   minister's  FAINTING   FITS.  267 

let  US  be  turned  aside  from  the  path  which  the  divine 
call  has  urged  us  to  pursue.  Come  fair  or  come  foul, 
the  pulpit  is  our  watch-toAver,  and  the  ministry  our  war- 
fare ;  be  it  ours,  Avhen  we  cannot  see  the  face  of  our  God, 
to  trust  under  the  shadow  of  his  ayings. 


LECTURE   XII. 
THE  MINISTER'S  ORDINARY  CONVERSATION. 

Our  subject  is  to  be  the  minister's  common  conversa- 
tion when  he  mingles  with  men  in  general,  and  is  supposed 
to  be  quite  at  his  ease.  How  shall  he  order  his  speech 
among  his  fellow-men  ?  First  and  foremost,  let  me  saj, 
let  Mm  give  himself  no  ministerial  aii's,  but  avoid  every- 
thing which  is  stilted,  official,  fussy,  and  pretentious. 
"  The  Son  of  Man  "  is  a  noble  title ;  it  was  given  to 
Ezekiel,  and  to  a  greater  than  he  :  let  not  the  ambassador 
of  heaven  be  other  than  a  son  of  man.  In  fact,  let  him 
remember  that  the  more  simple  and  unaffected  he  is,  the 
more  closely  will  lid  resemble  that  child-man,  the  holy 
child  Jesus.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  trying  to  be  too 
much  a  minister,  rnd  becoming  too  little  a  man  ;  though 
the  more  of  a  true  man  you  are,  the  more  truly  will  you 
be  what  a  servant  of  the  Lord  should  be.  Schoolmasters 
and  ministers  have  generally  an  aj)pearance  peculiarly 
their  own ;  in  the  wrong  sense,  they  "  are  not  as  other 
men  are."  They  are  too  often  speckled  birds,  looking  as 
if  they  were  not  at  home  among  the  other  inhabitants  of 
the  country  ;  but  awkward  and  peculiar.  When  I  have 
seen  a  flamingo  gravely  stalking  along,  an  owl  blinking 
in  the  shade,  or  a  stork  demurely  lost  in  thought,  I  have 
been  irresistibly  led  to  remember  some  of  my  dignified 
brethren  of  the  teaching  and  preaching  fraternity,  who 
are  so  marvellously  proper  at  all  times  that  they  are  just 


THE   minister's   ORDIIfART    CONVEUSATIOX.       269 

a  shade  amusing.  Their  very  respectable,  stilted,  digni- 
tied,  important,  self-restrained  manner  is  easily  acquired; 
but  is  it  worth  acfpiiring  ? 

Theodore  Hook  once  stepped  up  to  a  gentleman  who 
was  parading  the  street  with  great  pomposity,  and  said 
to  him,  "  Sir,  are  you  not  a  person  of  great  importance  ?" 
and  one  has  felt  half  inclined  to  do  the  same  with  certain 
brethren  of  the  cloth.  I  know  brethren  who,  from  head 
to  foot,  in  garb,  tone,  manner,  necktie,  and  boots,  are  so 
utterly  jjarsonic  that  no  particle  of  manhood  is  visible. 
One  young  sprig  of  divinity  must  needs  go  through  the 
streets  in  a  gown,  and  another  of  the  High  Church  order 
has  recorded  it  in  the  newsj)apers  Avith  much  complacen- 
cy that  he  traversed  Switzerland  and  Italy,  wearing  in  all 
places  his  biretta  ;  few  boys  would  have  been  so  proud  of 
a  fool's  cap.  None  of  us  are  likely  to  go  as  far  as  that  in 
our  apparel ;  but  we  may  do  the  like  by  our  mannerism. 
Some  men  appear  to  have  a  white  cravat  twisted  round 
their  souls,  their  manhood  is  throttled  with  that  starched 
rag.  Certain  brethren  maintain  an  air  of  superiority 
which  they  think  impressive,  but  which  is  simply  offen- 
sive, and  eminently  opposed  to  their  pretensions  as  follow- 
ers of  the  lowly  Jesus.  The  proud  Duke  of  Somerset 
intimated  his  commands  to  his  servants  by  signs,  not 
condescending  to  speak  to  such  base  beings ;  his  children 
never  sat  down  in  his  presence,  and  when  he  slept  in  the 
afternoon  one  of  his  daug]iters  stood  on  each  side  of  him 
during  his  august  slumbers.  When  proud  Somersets  get 
into  the  ministry,  tliey  affect  dignity  in  other  ways  almost 
equally  absurd.  ''Stand  by,  I  am  holier  than  thou,"  is 
written  across  their  foreheads. 

A  well-known  minister  was  once  rebuked  by  a  sublime 
brother  for  his  indulgence  in  a  certain  luxury,  and  the 
expense  was  made  a  great  argument.     "  Well,  well,"  ho 


270  LECTURES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

replied,  *' there  m.iy  be  something  in  that ;  but  remem- 
ber, I  do  not  spend  half  so  much  upon  my  weakness  aa 
you  do  in  starch."  That  is  the  article  I  am  deprecating, 
that  dreadful  ministerial  starch.  If  you  have  indulged 
in  it,  I  would  earnestly  advise  you  to  ''go  and  wash  in 
Jordan  seven  times,"  and  get  it  out  of  you,  every  particle 
of  it.  I  am  persuaded  that  one  reason  why  our  working- 
men  so  universally  keep  clear  of  ministers  is  because  they 
abhor  their  artificial  and  unmanly  ways.  If  they  saw  us, 
in  the  pulpit  and  out  of  it,  acting  like  real  men,  and 
speaking  naturally,  like  honest  men,  they  would  come 
around  us.  Baxter's  remark  still  holds  good  :  "  The 
want  of  a  familiar  tone  and  expression  is  a  great  fault  in 
most  of  our  deliveries,  and  that  which  we  should  be  very 
careful  to  amend."  The  vice  of  the  ministry  is  that 
ministers  ^\\\\  2)cirsonijicate  the  gospel,  ^ye  must  have 
humanity  along  with  our  divinity  if  we  would  win  the 
masses.  Everybody  can  see  through  affectations,  and 
people  are  not  likely  to  be  taken  in  by  them.  Fling  aAvay 
your  stilts,  brethren,  and  walk  on  your  feet ;  doff  your 
ecclesiasticism,  and  array  yourselves  in  truth. 

Still  a  minister,  wherever  he  is,  is  a  minister,  and 
sho2ild  recollect  that  he  is  on  duty,  A  policeman  or  a  soldier 
may  be  off  duty,  but  a  minister  never  is.  Even  in  our 
recreations  we  should  still  pursue  the  great  object  of  our 
lives;  for  we  are  called  to  be  diligent  "in  season  and 
out  of  season."  There  is  no  position  in  which  we  may 
be  placed  but  the  Lord  may  come  with  the  question, 
*'  What  doest  thou  here,  Elijah  ?"  and  we  ought  to  be 
able  at  once  to  answer,  "  I  have  something  to  do  for  thee 
even  here,  and  I  am  trying  to  do  it."  The  bow,  of  course, 
must  be  at  times  unstrung,  or  else  it  will  lose  its  elas- 
ticity ;  but  there  is  no  need  to  cut  the  string.  I  am  speak- 
ing at  this  time  of  the  minister  in  times  of  relaxation ;  and 


TUE    MINISTERS   ORDUvTARY   CONVERSATION.       271 

[  say  that  even  then  he  should  conduct  himself  as  tlie  am- 
bassador of  God,  and  seize  opportunities  of  doing  good  • 
this  Avill  not  mar  his  rest,  but  sanctify  it.  A  minister 
should  be  like  a  certain  chamber  which  I  saw  at  Beaulieu, 
in  the  New  Forest,  in  which  a  cobweb  is  never  seen.  It 
is  a  large  lumber-room,  and  is  never  swept ;  yet  no  spider 
ever  defiles  it  with  tlie  emblems  of  neglect.  It  is  roofed 
with  chestnut,  and  for  some  reason,  I  know  not  what, 
spiders  will  not  come  near  that  wood  by  the  year  together. 
The  same  thing  was  mentioned  to  me  in  the  corridors  of 
"Winchester  School:  I  was  told,  "No  spiders  ever  come 
here."     Our  minds  should  be  equally  clear  of  idle  habits. 

On  our  public  rests  for  porters  in  the  City  of  London 
you  may  i-ead  the  words,  *'  Rest,  but  do  not  loiter  ; "  and 
they  contain  advice  Avorthy  of  our  attention.  I  do  not 
call  the  dolce  far  niente  laziness  ;  there  is  a  sweet  doing 
of  nothing  which  is  just  the  finest  medicine  in  the  world 
for  a  jaded  mind,  AVhen  the  mind  gets  fatigued  and  out 
of  order,  to  rest  it  is  no  more  idleness  than  sleep  is  idleness; 
and  no  man  is  called  lazy  for  sleeping  the  proper  time. 
It  is  far  better  to  be  industriously  asleep  than  lazily  awake. 
Be  ready  to  do  good  even  in  your  resting  times  and  in 
your  leisure  hours  ;  and  so  be  really  a  minister,  and  thery 
will  be  no  need  for  you  to  proclaim  that  you  are  so. 

The  Cliristian  minister  out  of  the  inilpit  should  he  a 
sociable  man.  He  is  not  sent  into  the  world  to  be  a  her- 
mit, or  a  monk  of  La  Trappe.  It  is  not  his  vocation  to 
stand  on  a  pillar  all  day,  above  his  fellow-men,  like  that 
luu'e-brained  Simon  Stylites  of  olden  time.  You  are  not 
to  warble  from  the  top  of  a  tree,  like  an  invisible  night- 
ingale ;  but  to  be  a  man  among  men,  saying  to  them, 
*'  I  also  am  as  you  are  in  all  that  relates  to  man."  Salt 
is  01  no  use  in  the  box  ;  it  must  be  rubbed  into  the  meat; 
ami  our  personal  influence  must  penetrate  and  season 


272  LECTUKES   TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

society.  Keep  aloof  from  others,  and  how  can  you  ben- 
efit them  ?  Our  Master  went  to  a  wedding,  and  ate  bread 
with  publicans  and  sinners,  and  yet  was  far  more  pure 
than  those  sanctimonious  Pharisees,  whose  glory  was  that 
they  were  separate  from  their  fellow-men.  Some  minis- 
ters need  to  be  told  that  they  are  of  the  same  species  as 
their  hearers.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  but  we  may  as 
well  state  it,  that  bishops,  canons,  archdeacons,  prebend- 
aries, rural  deans,  rectors,  vicars,  and  even  archbishops, 
are  only  men  after  all ;  and  God  has  not  railed  off  a  holy 
corner  of  the  earth  to  serve  as  a  chancel  for  them,  to 
abide  therein  by  themselves. 

It  would  not  be  amiss  if  there  could  be  a  revival  of 
holy  talk  in  the  churchyard  and  the  meeting-yard.  I 
like  to  see  the  big  yew-trees  outside  our  ancient  churches 
with  seats  all  round  them.  They  seem  to  say :  "Sit 
down  here,  neighbor,  and  talk  upon  the  sermon  ;  here 
comes  the  pastor,  he  will  join  us,  and  we  shall  have  a 
pleasant,  holy  chat."  It  is  not  every  preacher  we  would 
care  to  talk  with  ;  but  there  are  some  whom  one  would 
give  a  fortune  to  converse  with  for  an  hour.  I  love  a 
minister  whose  face  invites  me  to  make  him  my  friend — 
a  man  upon  whose  doorstep  you  read,  "Salve,"  "  IVel- 
•conie  ;  "  and  feel  that  there  is  no  need  of  that  Pompeian 
warning,  "Cave  Canem,"  "  Betmre  of  the  clog."  Give 
me  the  man  around  whom  the  children  come,  like  flies 
around  a  honey-pot  :  they  are  first-class  Judges  of  a  good 
man.  When  Solomon  was  tried  by  the  Queen  of  Sheba, 
as  to  his  wisdom,  the  rabbis  tell  us  that  she  brought 
some  artificial  flowers  witli  her,  beautifully  made  and 
delicately  scented,  so  as  to  be  fac-similes  of  real 
flowers.  She  asked  Solomon  to  discover  which  were 
artificial  and  which  were  real.  Tlie  wise  man  bade  his 
Bsrvants  open  the  window,  and  when  the  bees  came  in 


TUE   minister's   ORDINARY   CONVERSATION.       273 

tliey  flew  at  once  to  the  natural  flowers,  and  cared 
nothing  for  the  artificiah  80  you  Avill  find  that  children 
have  their  instincts,  and  discover  very  speedily  who  is 
their  friend,  and  depend  upon  it  the  children's  friend  is 
one  who  will  be  wortli  knowing.  Have  a  good  word  to 
say  to  each  and  every  member  of  the  family — the  big 
boys,  and  the  young  ladies,  and  the  little  girls,  and  every- 
body. No  one  knows  what  a  smile  and  a  hearty  sen- 
tence may  do.  A  man  who  is  to  do  much  with  men 
must  love  them,  and  feel  at  nome  with  them.  An  in- 
dividual who  has  no  geniality  about  him  had  better  be 
an  undertaker,  and  bury  the  dead,  for  he  will  never  suc- 
ceed in  influencing  the  living.  I  have  met  somewhere 
with  the  observation  that  to  be  a  popular  preacher  one 
must  have  bowels.  I  fear  that  the  observation  was 
meant  as  a  mild  criticism  upon  the  bulk  to  which  certain 
brethren  have  attained  :  but  there  is  truth  in  it.  A 
man  must  have  a  great  heart  if  he  would  have  a  great 
congregation.  His  heart  should  be  as  capacious  as  those 
noble  harbors  along  our  coast,  which  contain  sea-room 
for  a  fleet.  When  a  man  has  a  large,  loving  heart,  men 
go  to  him  as  ships  to  a  haven,  and  feel  at  peace  when 
they  have  anchored  under  the  lee  of  his  friendship. 
Such  a  man  is  hearty  in  private  as  well  as  in  public  ;  his 
blood  is  not  cold  and  fishy,  but  he  is  warm  as  your  own 
fireside.  No  pride  and  selfishness  chill  you  Avhen  you 
approach  him  ;  he  has  his  doors  all  open  to  receive  you, 
and  you  are  at  home  with  him  at  once.  Such  men  I 
would  persuade  you  to  be,  every  one  of  you. 

Tlie  Christian  minister  should  also  he  very  cheerful. 
I  don't  believe  in  going  about  like  certain  monks  whom 
I  saw  in  Eome,  who  salute  each  other  in  sepulchral 
tones,  and  convey  the  pleasant  information,  "  Brother, 
we  must  die ; "  to  which  lively  salutation  each  lively 
12* 


274  LECTUKES  TO    ilY  STUDENTS. 

brother  of  the  order  replies,  "  Yes,  brother,  we  must  die." 
I  was  glad  to  be  assured  upon  such  good  authority  that 
all  these  lazy  fellow  sare  about  to  die  ;  upon  the  whole, 
it  is  about  the  best  thing  they  can  do  ;  but  till  that 
event  occurs,  they  might  use  some  more  comfortable 
form  of  salutation. 

No  doubt  there  are  some  people  who  will  be  im- 
pressed by  the  very  solemn  appearance  of  ministers.  I 
have  heard  of  one  who  felt  convinced  that  there  must 
be  something  in  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  from  the 
extremely  starved  and  pinched  appearance  of  a  certain 
ecclesiastic.  *'Look,"  said  he,  '*  how  the  man  is  worn 
to  a  skeleton  by  his  daily  fastings  and  nightly  vigils  ! 
How  he  must  mortify  his  flesh  ! "  Now,  the  probabil- 
ities are  that  the  emaciated  priest  was  laboring  under 
some  internal  disease,  which  he  would  have  been  heartily 
glad  to  be  rid  of,  and  it  was  not  conquest  of  appetite, 
but  failure  in  digestion,  which  had  so  reduced  him  ;  or, 
possibly  a  troubled  conscience,  Avhicli  made  him  fret 
himself  down  to  the  light  weights.  Certainly,  I  have 
never  met  with  a  text  Avhicli  mentions  prominence  of 
bone  as  an  evidence  of  grace.  If  so,  "The  Living  Skel- 
eton" should  have  been  exhibited,  not  merely  as  a 
natural  curiosity,  but  as  the  standard  of  virtue.  Some 
of  the  biggest  rogues  in  the  world  have  been  as  mortified 
in  appearance  as  if  they  had  lived  on  locusts  and  wild 
honey.  It  is  a  very  vulgar  error  to  suppose  that  a  melan- 
choly countenance  is  the  index  of  a  gracious  heart.  I 
I  commend  cheerfulness  to  all  who  would  win  souls  ;  not 
levity  and  frothiness,  but  a  genial,  happy  spirit.  There 
are  more  flies  caught  Avitli  honey  than  with  vinegar,  and 
there  will  be  more  souls  led  to  heaven  by  a  man  who 
wears  heaven  in  his  face  than  by  one  who  bears  Tartarus 
in  his  looks. 


THE  minister's   ORDINARY   CONVERSATION".      275 

Young  ministers,  and,  indeed,  all  others,  when  they 
arc  in  company,  should  take  care  not  to  engross  all  the 
conversation.  They  are  quite  qualified  to  do  so,  no 
doubt ;  I  mean  from  their  capacity  to  instruct,  and 
readiness  of  utterance  ;  but  tliey  must  remember  that 
people  do  not  care  to  be  perpetually  instructed  ;  they 
like  to  take  a  turn  in  the  conversation  themselves. 
Nothing  pleases  some  people  so  much  as  to  let  them  talk, 
and  it  may  be  for  their  good  to  let  them  be  pleased.  1 
spent  an  hour  one  evening  with  a  person  who  did  me  the 
honor  to  say  that  he  found  me  a  very  charming  com- 
panion, and  most  instructive  in  conversation,  yet,  I  do 
not  hesitate  to  confess  that  I  said  scarcely  anything  at 
all,  but  allowed  him  to  have  the  talk  to  himself.  By 
exercising  patience  I  gained  his  good  opinion,  and  an 
opportunity  to  address  him  on  other  occasions.  A  man 
has  no  more  right  at  table  to  talk  all  than  to  eat  all. 
AVe  are  not  to  think  ourselves  Sir  Oracle,  before  Avhom 
no  dog  must  open  his  mouth.  No ;  let  all  the  com- 
pany contribute  of  their  stores,  and  they  will  think  all 
the  better  of  the  godly  words  with  which  you  try  to 
season  the  discourse. 

There  are  some  companies  into  which  you  will  go, 
especially  when  you  are  first  settled,  where  everybody 
will  be  awed  by  the  majesty  of  your  presence,  and  people 
will  be  invited  because  the  new  minister  is  to  be  there. 
Such  a  position  reminds  me  of  the  choicest  statuary 
in  the  Vatican.  A  little  room  is  screened  off,  a  curtain 
is  drawn,  and  lo  !  before  you  stands  the  great  Apollo  ! 
If  it  be  your  trying  lot  to  be  the  Apollo  of  the  little 
party,  put  an  end  to  the  nonsense.  If  I  were  the 
Apollo,  I  should  like  to  step  right  off  the  pedestal  and 
shake  hands  all  round,  and  you  had  better  do  the  same  ; 
for  sooner  or  later  the  fuss  they  make  about  you  will 


3.(6  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDEKTS. 

come  to  an  end,  and  tlie  wisest  course  is  to  end  it  your- 
self. Hero-worship  is  a  kind  of  idolatry,  and  must  not  be 
en'jouraged.  Heroes  do  well  when  they,  like  the  Apostles 
at  Lystra,  are  horrified  at  the  honors  done  to  them,  and 
run  in  among  the  peojale  crying,  "  Sirs,  why  do  ye  these 
things  ?  We  also  are  men  of  like  passions  Avith  you." 
Ministers  will  not  have  to  do  it  long ;  for  their  foolish 
admirers  are  very  apt  to  turn  round  upon  them,  and 
if  they  do  not  stone  them  nearly  to  death,  they  will 
go  as  far  as  they  dare  in  unkindness  and  contempt. 

While  I  say,  "Do  not  talk  all,  and  assume  an  impor- 
tance which  is  mere  imposture; "  still,  do  not  he  a  dummy. 
People  will  form  their  estimate  of  you  and  your  ministry 
by  what  they  see  of  you  in  private  as  well  as  by  your 
public  deliverances.  Many  young  men  have  ruined 
themselves  in  the  pulpit  by  being  indiscreet  in  the 
parlor,  and  have  lost  all  hope  of  doing  good  by  their 
stupidity  or  frivolity  in  company.  Don't  be  an  inani- 
mate log.  At  Antwerp  Fair,  among  many  curiosities 
advertised  by  huge  paintings  and  big  drums,  I  observed 
a  booth  containing  "a  great  wonder,"  to  be  seen  for 
a  penny  a  head  ;  it  was  a  petrified  man.  I  did  not 
expend  the  amount  requii'ed  for  admission,  for  I  had 
seen  so  many  petrified  men  for  nothing,  both  in  and  out 
of  the  pulpit — lifeless,  careless,  destitute  of  common 
sense,  and  altogether  inert,  though  occupied  with  the 
weightiest  business  which  man  could  undertake. 

Try  to  turn  the  conversation  to  frofitahle  use.  Be 
sociable  and  cheerful  and  all  that,  but  labor  to  accomplisli 
something.  Why  should  you  sow  the  wind,  or  plough 
a  rock  ?  Consider  yourself,  after  all,  as  being  very  much 
responsible  for  the  conversation  wliich  goes  on  where  you 
are  ;  for  such  is  the  esteem  in  which  you  will  usually  be 
held,  that  you  will  be  the  helmsman  of  the  conversation. 


THE  minister's   ORDINARY   CONVERSATION.       27? 

Therefore,  steer  it  into  a  good  cliannel.  Do  this  with- 
out roughness  or  force.  Keep  tlie  points  of  tlie  line 
in  good  order,  and  the  train  will  run  on  to  your  rails 
"Nvitliout  a  jerk.  Be  ready  to  seize  opportunities  adroitly, 
and  lead  on  imperceptibly  in  the  desired  track.  If  your 
keart  is  in  it  and  your  wits  are  awake,  this  will  be  easy 
enough,  especially  if  you  breathe  a  prayer  for  guidance,    i 

1  shall  never  forget  the  manner  in  which  a  thirsty 
individual  once  begged  of  me  upon  Clapham  Common. 
I  saw  him  with  a  very  large  truck,  in  Avhicli  he  was 
carrying  an  extremely  small  parcel,  and  I  wondered  why 
he  had  not  put  the  parcel  into  his  pocket,  and  left  the 
machine  at  home.  I  said,  ''  It  looks  odd  to  see  so  large 
a  truck  for  such  a  small  load."  He  stopped,  and  looking 
me  seriously  in  the  face,  he  said,  "Yes,  sir,  it  is  a  very 
odd  tiling  ;  but,  do  you  know,  I  have  met  with  an  odder 
thing  than  that  this  very  day.  I've  been  about,  work- 
ing and  sweating  all  this  'ere  blessed  day,  and  till  now  I 
liavn't  met  a  single  gentleman  that  looked  as  if  he'd 
give  me  a  pint  of  beer,  till  I  saw  you."  I  considered 
that  turn  of  the  conversation  very  neatly  managed,  and 
we,  with  a  far  better  subject  upon  our  minds,  ought 
to  be  equally  able  to  introduce  the  topic  upon  which  our 
heart  is  set.  There  was  an  ease  in  the  man's  manner 
which  I  envied,  for  I  did  not  find  it  quite  so  simple 
a  matter  to  introduce  my  own  topic  to  his  notice  ;  yet  if 
I  had  been  thinking  as  much  about  how  I  could  do  him 
good  as  he  had  upon  how  to  obtain  a  drink,  I  feel  sure  I 
should  have  succeeded  in  reaching  my  point.  If  by  any 
means  we  may  save  some,  we  must,  like  our  Lord,  talk  at 
table  to  good  purpose — yes,  and  on  the  margin  of  the  well, 
and  by  the  road,  and  on  the  sea-shore,  and  in  the  house, 
and  in  the  field.  To  be  a  holy  talker  for  Jesus  might 
be  almost  as  fruitful  an  office  as  to  be  a  faithful. preacher. 


278  LECTL'RES   TO    J»i  f   STUDEIfTS. 

Aim  at  excellence  in  Loth  exercises,  and  if  tlie   Holy 
fSj)irit's  aid  be  called  in,  yon  will  attain  yonr  desire. 

Here,  perhaps,  I  may  insert  a  canon,  which  never- 
theless I  believe  to  be  qnite  needless,  in  reference  to  each 
one  of  the  honorable  brethren  whom  I  am  now  address- 
ing. Do  not  frequent  rich  men^s  tables  to  gam  thcb 
ctmntenance,  and  never  malce  yourself  a  sort  of  genercd 
hanger-on  at  tea-parties  and  entertamments.  Who  are 
you  that  you  should  be  dancing  attendance  upon  this 
wealthy  man  and  the  other,  when  the  Lord's  poor,  his 
sick  people,  and  his  wandering  sheep  require  you  ?  To 
sacrifice  the  study  to  tlie  parlor  is  criminal.  To  be  a 
tout  for  your  church,  and  waylay  people  at  their  homes 
to  draw  them  to  fill  your  pews,  is  a  degradation  to  which, 
no  man  should  submit.  To  see  ministers  of  different 
sects  fluttering  round  a  wealthy  man,  like  vultures 
round  a  dead  camel,  is  sickening.  Deliciously  sarcastic 
was  that  famous  letter  "  from  an  old  and  beloved  min- 
ister to  his  dear  son  "  upon  his  entrance  into  the  ministry, 
the  following  extract  from  which  hits  our  present  point. 
It  is  said  to  have  been  copied  from  tlie  SmelJfungus 
Gazette,  but  I  suspect  our  friend  Paxtou  Hood  knows 
all  about  its  authorship  :  "  Keep  also  a  watchful  eye 
on  all  likely  persons,  especially  wealthy  or  influential, 
who  may  come  to  your  town ;  call  upon  them,  and 
attempt  to  win  them  over  by  tlie  devotions  of  the  draw- 
ing-room to  your  cause.  Thus  you  may  most  efficiently 
serve  the  Master's  interests.  People  need  looking  after, 
and  the  result  of  a  long  experience  goes  to  confirm  my 
conviction,  long  cherislied,  that  the  power  of  the  pulpit 
is  trifling  compared  with  tlie  power  of  the  parlor.  AVe 
must  imitate  and  sanctify,  by  the  word  of  God  and 
prayer,  tlie  exercises  of  the  Jesuits.  They  succeeded 
not  by  the  pulpit  so  much  as  by  the  parlor.     In  the 


THE  minister's    0RDIN"A.RT  CONVERSATION'.      279 

parlor  you  can  -whisper — you  can  meet  people  on  all 
their  little  personal  private  ideas.  The  pulpit  is  a  very 
unpleasant  place  ;  of  course  it  is  the  great  power  of  God, 
and  so  on,  hut  it  is  the  parlor  that  tells,  and  a  ministe 
has  not  the  same  chance  of  success  if  he  be  a  good 
preacher  as  if  he  is  a  perfect  gentleman  ;  nor  in  culti- 
vated society  has  any  man  a  legitimate  prospect  of  suc- 
cess if  he  is  not,  whatever  he  may  be,  a  gentleman.  I 
have  always  admired  Lord  Shaftesbury's  character  of  St. 
Paul  in  his  '  Characteristics  ' — that  he  was  a  fine  gentle- 
man. And  I  would  say  to  you,  be  a  gentleman.  Not 
that  I  need  to  say  so,  but  am  persuaded  that  only  in  this 
way  can  we  hope  for  the  conversion  of  our  growing, 
wealthy  middle  classes.  We  must  show  that  our  reli- 
gion is  the  religion  of  good  sense  and  good  taste  ;  that 
we  disapj)rove  of  strong  excitements  and  strong  stimu- 
lants ;  and  oh,  my  dear  boy,  if  you  would  be  useful, 
often  in  your  closet  make  it  a  matter  of  earnest  prayer 
that  you  may  be  proper.  If  I  were  asked  what  is  your 
first  duty,  be  proper  ;  and  your  second,  be  proinr  ;  and 
your  third,  he  proper.''''  Those  who  remember  a  class  of 
preachers  who  flourished  fifty  years  ago  will  see  the 
keenness  of  the  satire  in  this  extract.  The  evil  is 
greatly  mitigated  now  ;  in  fact,  I  fear  we  may  be  drift- 
ing into  another  extreme. 

In  all  probability,  sensible  conversation  will  some- 
times drift  into  controversy,  and  here  many  a  good  man 
runs  upon  a  snag.  Tlie  sensible  minister  will  be  parfic- 
iilarly  gentle  in  argument.  He,  above  all  men,  should 
]iot  make  the  mistake  of  fancying  that  there  is  force  in 
temper,  and  power  in  speaking  angrily.  A  heathen 
who  stood  in  a  crowd  in  Calcutta,  listening  to  a  mission- 
ary disputing  with  a  Brahmin,  said  he  knew  Avhich  was 
right  though  he  did  not  understand  the  language — he 


280  LECTURES  TO  MY  STUDENTS. 

knew  that  he  was  in  the  wrong  who  lost  his  temper  first. 
For  the  most  part,  tliat  is  a  very  accurate  way  of  judg- 
ing. Try  to  avoid  debating  with  people.  State  your 
opinion  and  let  them  state  theirs.  If  you  see  that  a 
stick  is  crooked,  and  you  want  jieople  to  see  liow  crooked 
it  is,  lay  a  straight  rod  down  beside  it ;  that  will  be  quite 
enough.  But  if  you  are  drawn  into  eoiitrovcrsy,  use 
very  hard  arguments  and  very  soft  words.  Frequently 
you  cannot  convince  a  man  by  tugging  at  his  reason,  but 
you  can  persuade  him  by  winning  his  affections.  The 
other  day  I  had  the  misery  to  need  a  pair  of  new  boots, 
and  though  I  bade  the  fellow  make  them  as  large  as 
canoes,  I  had  to  labor  fearfully  to  get  them  on.  With  a 
pair  of  boot-hooks  I  toiled  like  the  men  on  board  the 
vessel  with  Jonah,  but  all  in  vain.  Just  then  my  friend 
put  in  my  way  a  little  French  chalk,  and  tlie  work  was 
done  in  a  moment.  AVonderfully  coaxing  was  that 
French  chalk.  Gentlemen,  always  carry  a  little  French 
chalk  with  you  into  society,  a  neat  packet  of  Christian  per- 
suasiveness, and  you  will  soon  discover  the  virtues  of  it. 
And  lastly,  with  all  his  amiability,  tlte  minister 
should  he  firm  for  his  2)ri7iciples,  and  bold  to  avow  and 
defend  them  in  all  companies.  When  a  fair  ojjportunity 
occurs,  or  he  has  managed  to  create  one,  let  him  not  be 
slow  to  make  use  of  it.  Strong  in  his  principles,  earnest 
in  his  tone,  and  affectionate  in  heart,  let  him  speak  out 
like  a  man  and  thank  God  for  the  privilege.  There 
need  be  no  reticence— there  should  be  none.  The  mad- 
dest romances  of  Spiritualists,  the  wildest  dreams  of 
Utopian  reformers,  the  silliest  chit-chat  of  the  town, 
and  the  vainest  nonsense  of  the  frivolous  world,  demand 
a  hearing  and  get  it.  And  shall  not  Christ  be  heard  ? 
Shall  his  message  of  love  remain  untold,  for  fear  we 
Bhould  be  charged  with  intrusion  or  accused  of  cant  r 


THE   MIXISTER'S   ORDINARY   COXVERSATIOX.       281 

Is  religion  to  be  tabooed — the  best  and  noblest  of  all 
themes  forbidden  ?  If  tliis  be  the  rule  of  any  society, 
we  will  not  comply  with  it.  If  we  cannot  break  it 
down,  we  will  leave  the  society  to  itself,  as  men  desert  a 
house  smitten  with  leprosy.  We  cannot  consent  to  be 
gagged.  There  is  no  reason  why  Ave  should  be.  We 
will  go  to  no  place  where  Ave  cannot  take  our  Master 
with  us.  While  others  take  liberty  to  sin,  Ave  shall  not 
renounce  our  liberty  to  rebuke  and  warn  them. 

Wisely  used,  our  common  conversation  may  be  a 
potent  means  for  good.  Trains  of  thought  may  be  start- 
ed by  a  single  sentence  which  may  lead  to  the  conA'ersion 
of  persons  Avhom  our  sermons  have  never  reached.  The 
method  of  button-holing  peojjle,  or  bringing  the  truth 
before  them  individually,  has  been  greatly  successful : 
this  is  another  subject,-  and  can  hardly  come  under  the 
head  of  Common  ConA'crsation  :  but  Ave  Avill  close  by  say- 
ing that  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  Ave  shall  never,  in  our 
ordinary  talk,  any  more  than  in  the  jiulpit,  be  looked 
upon  as  nice  sort  of  persons,  Avhose  business  it  is  to  make 
things  agreeable  all  round,  and  who  never  by  any  possi- 
bility cause  uneasiness  to  any  one,  hoAvever  ungodly  tlieir 
lives  may  be.  Such  persons  go  in  and  o«t  among  the 
f  milies  of  their  hearers,  and  make  merry  Avith  them, 
Avhen  they  ought  to  be  mourning  OA'cr  them.  They  sit 
down  at  their  tables  and  feast  at  their  ease,  Avhen  they 
ought  to  be  Avarningthem  to  llee  from  the  wrath  to  come. 
They  are  like  that  American  alarum  I  have  heard  of,  war- 
ranted not  to  wake  you  if  you  did  not  wish  it  to  do  so. 

Be  it  ours  to  sow,  not  only  on  the  honest  and  good 
soil,  but  on  the  rock  and  on  the  highway,  and  at  the 
last  great  day  to  reap  a  glad  harvest.  May  the  bread 
wliich  we  cast  upon  the  Avaters  in  odd  times  and  strange 
occasions  be  found  again  after  many  days. 


LECTURE   XIII. 

TO  WOEKEES  WITH  SLENDEE  APPAEATUS. 

What  are  those  ministers  to  do  who  have  a  slender 
apparatus  ?  By  a  slender  apparatus  I  mean  that  they 
have  few  books,  and  little  or  no  means  wherewith  to 
purchase  more.  This  is  a  state  of  things  which  ought 
not  to  exist  in  any  case  ;  the  churches  ought  to  take 
care  that  it  should  be  rendered  impossible.  Uid  to  the 
highest  measure  of  tlieir  ability  they  should  furnish  their 
minister,  not  only  with  tlie  food  which  is  needful  to  sus- 
tain the  life  of  his  body,  but  with  mental  nutriment,  so 
that  his  soul  may  not  be  starved.  A  good  library  should 
be  looked  upon  as  an  indisjoensable  part  of  churcli  furni- 
ture ;  and  the  deacons,  Avhose  business  it  is  "  to  serve 
tables,"  will  be  wise  if,  without  neglecting  the  table  of 
the  Lord,  or  of  the  poor,  and  without  diminisliing  the 
supplies  of  the  minister's  dinner-table,  they  give  an  eye 
to  his  study-table,  and  keep  it  supplied  with  new  works 
and  standard  books  in  fair  abundance.  It  would  be 
money  well  laid  out,  and  would  be  productive  far  be- 
yond expectation.  Instead  of  waxing  eloquent  upon 
the  declining  power  of  the  pulpit,  leading  men  in  the 
churcli  should  use  the  legitimate  means  for  imi^roving 
its  power,  by  supplying  the  j)reacher  with  food  foi 
thought.  Put  the  whij")  into  the  manger,  is  my  advice 
to  all  grumblers. 

Some  years  ago  I  tried  to  induce  our  churches  to 


TO    WORKERS    WITH    SLENDER   APPARATUS.         283 

have  ministers'  libraries  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  some 
few  thoughtful  people  saw  the  value  of  the  suggestion, 
and  commenced  carrying  it  out.  With  much  pleasure  I 
have  seen  here  and  there  the  shelves  provided,  and  a  few 
volumes  placed  upon  them.  I  earnestly  wish  that  such 
a  beginning  had  been  made  everywhere ;  but,  alas  !  I 
fnar  that  a  long  succession  of  starveling  ministers  will 
alone  arouse  the  miserly  to  the  conviction  that  parsimony 
with  a  minister  is  false  economy.  Those  churches  which 
cannot  afford  a  liberal  stipend  should  make  some  amends 
by  founding  a  library  as  a  permanent  part  of  their  es- 
tablishment ;  and,  by  making  additions  to  it  from  year 
to  year,  it  would  soon  become  very  valuable.  My  ven- 
erable grandfather's  manse  had  in  it  a  collection  of  very 
valuable  ancient  Puritanic  volumes,  which  had  descended 
from  minister  to  minister :  well  do  I  remember  certain 
ponderous  tomes,  whose  chief  interest  to  me  lay  in  their 
curious  initial  letters,  adorned  with  pelicans,  griffins, 
little  boys  at  play,  or  patriarchs  at  work.  It  may  be 
objected  that  the  books  would  be  lost  through  change  of 
users,  but  I  would  run  the  risk  of  that ;  and  trustees, 
with  a  little  care  over  the  catalogue,  could  keep  the  libra- 
ries as  securely  as  they  keep  the  pews  and  pulpit. 

If  this  scheme  be  not  adopted,  let  another  and  simpler 
one  be  tried  ;  let  all  the  subscribers  towards  the  preacher's 
support  add  ten  per  cent,  or  more  to  their  subscriptions, 
expressly  to  provide  food  for  the  minister's  brain.  They 
would  get  back  what  they  gave  in  the  improved  sermons 
they  Avould  hear.  If  some  little  annual  income  could  be 
secured  to  poor  ministers,  to  be  sacredly  spent  in  books, 
it  would  be  a  God-send  to  them,  and  an  incalciTlable 
blessing  to  the  community.  Sensible  loersons  do  not 
expect  a  garden  to  yield  them  herbs  from  year  to  year 
unless  they  enrich  the  soil ;  they  do  not  expect  a  locomo- 


284  LECTUEES  TO   MY  STUDENTS. 

tire  to  work  without  fuel,  or  even  an  ox  or  an  ass  to 
laljor  without  food  ;  let  them,  therefore,  give  over  ex- 
})ccting  to  receive  instructive  sermons  from  men  who  are 
shut  out  of  the  storehouse  of  knowledge  by  their  inability 
to  purchase  books. 

But  the  subject  is,  what  are  men  to  do  who  have  no 
stoi-es,  who  have  no  church  library,  and  no  allowance 
made  them  to  provide  books  ?  Let  us  remark  at  once 
that,  if  these  men  succeed,  greater  honor  is  due  to  them 
than  to  those  who  have  large  appliances. 

Quintin  Matsys  is  said  to  have  had  allhis  tools  except 
his  hammer  and  file  taken  from  him  by  his  fellow-work- 
men, and  to  have  produced  his  famous  well-cover  with- 
out them ;  so  much  the  more  honor  to  him  !  Great 
credit  is  due  to  those  workers  for  God  who  have  dono 
great  thiugs  without  helpful  tools.  Their  labor  would 
have  been  greatly  lightened  if  they  had  possessed  them  ; 
but  what  they  have  done  is  the  more  wonderful.  At  the 
present  International  Exhibition  at  Kensington,  Mr. 
Buckmaster's  School  of  Cookery  is  mainly  admired  be- 
cause he  produces  such  savory  dishes  from  unpromising 
material ;  from  a  handful  of  bones  and  a  little  maccaroni 
he  serves  up  royal  dainties.  If  he  had  all  the  materials 
employed  in  French  cookery,  and  used  them  all,  every 
person  would  say,  "Well,  anybody  could  do  that ;"  but 
when  he  shows  you  scraps  of  meat  aiid  bones,  and  tells 
you  that  he  bought  them  at  the  butcher's  for  a  few 
pence,  and  that  he  can  make  out  of  them  a  dinner  for  a 
family  of  five  or  six,  all  the  good  wives  open  their  eyes, 
and  wonder  how  on  earth  it  can  be  done  ;  and  wheu  ho 
passes  round  his  dish,  and  they  taste  how  delicious  it  is, 
they  are  full  of  admiration.  Work  away,  then,  poor 
brother,  for  you  may  yet  succeed  in  doing  great  thhigs 
in  your  ministry,  and  your  welcome  of  "  Well  done,  good 


TO   WORKERS  WITH  SLENDER   APPARATUS.         285 

and  faithful  servant,"   will  be  all  the  more  emphatic 
because  you  labored  under  serious  difficulties. 

If  a  man  can  purchase  but  very  few  books,  my  first 
advice  to  liim  would  be,  let  him  purchase  the  very  best. 
If  he  cannot  spend  much,  let  him  spend  well.  The 
best  will  always  be  the  cheapest.  Leave  mere  dilutions 
and  attenuations  to  those  who  can  afford  such  luxuries. 
Do  not  buy  milk  and  water,  but  get  condensed  milk,  and 
put  what  water  you  like  to  it  yourself.  This  age  is  full 
of  word-spinners — professional  book-makers,  who  ham- 
mer a  grain  of  matter  so  thin  that  it  will  cover  a  five- 
acre  sheet  of  paper  ;  these  men  have  their  uses,  as  gold- 
beaters have,  but  they  are  of  no  use  to  you.  Farmers  on 
our  coast  used  to  cart  wagon-loads  of  sea-weed  and  put 
them  upon  their  land  ;  the  heaviest  part  was  the  Avater  : 
now  they  dry  the  weeds,  and  save  a  world  of  labor  and 
expense.  Don't  buy  thin  soup  ;  purchase  the  essence  of 
meat.  Get  much  in  little.  Prefer  books  which  abound 
in  what  James  Hamilton  used  to  call  "Bibline,"  or  the 
essence  of  books.  You  require  accurate,  condensed,  reli- 
able, standard  books,  and  should  make  sure  that  you  get 
them.  In  preparing  his  ''Horse  Biblicge  Quotidianae," 
which  is  an  admirable  comment  upon  the  Bible,  Dr. 
Chalmers  used  only  the  "Concordance,"  the  "Pictorial 
Bible,"  "Poole's  Synopsis,"  "Matthew  Henry's  Com- 
mentary," and  "Eobinson's  Eesearches  in  Palestine." 
"  These  are  the  books  I  use,"  said  he  to  a  friend  ;  "  all 
that  is  Biblical  is  there  ;  I  have  to  do  with  nothing  be- 
sides in  my  Biblical  study."  This  sliows  that  those  who 
Jiavc  unlimited  stores  at  their  command,  yet  find  a  few 
stujidard  books  sufficient.  If  Dr.  Chalmers  were  now 
alive,  he  would  probably  take  Thomson's  "  Land  and  tho 
Book,"  instead  of  "  Robinson's  Researches,"  and  give  up 
tlie  "Pictorial  Bible"  for  Kitto's  "Daily Bible  Illustra- 


286  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

tions  ;"  at  least  I  should  recommend  the  alteration  to 
most  men.  This  is  clear  evidence  that  some  most  eminent 
preachers  have  found  that  they  could  do  better  with  fe^v 
books  than  with  laany  when  studyinoj  the  Scriptures,  and 
this,  I  take  it,  is  our  main  business. 

Forego,  then,  it  without  regret,  the  many  books 
which,  like  poor  Hodge's  razors,  of  famous  memory,  "  arc 
made  to  sell,"  and  do  sell  those  Avho  buy  them,  as  well 
as  themselves.  Matthew  Henry's  Commentary  having 
been  mentioned,  I  venture  to  say  that  no  better  invest- 
ment can  be  made,  by  any  minister,  than  that  peerless 
exposition.     Get  it,  if  you  sell  your  coat  to  buy  it. 

The  next  rule  I  shall  lay  down  is,  master  those  hooks 
you  have.  Eead  them  thoroughly.  Bathe  in  them 
until  they  saturate  you.  Read  and  re-read  them,  masti- 
cate them,  and  digest  them.  Let  tliem  go  into  your 
very  self.  Peruse  a  good  book  several  times,  and  make 
notes  and  analyses  of  it.  A  student  will  find  that  his 
mental  constitution  is  more  affected  by  one  book  thor- 
oughly mastered  than  by  twenty  books  which  he  has 
merely  skimmed,  lapping  at  them,  as  the  classic  proverb 
puts  it,  "As  the  dogs  drink  of  Nilas."  Little  learning 
and  much  pride  come  of  hasty  reading.  Books  may  be 
piled  on  the  brain  till  it  cannot  work.  Some  men  are 
disabled  from  thinking  by  their  putting  meditation 
away  for  the  sake  of  much  reading.  They  gorge  them- 
selves with  book-matter,  and  become  mentally  dyspeptic. 

Books  on  the  brain  cause  disease.  Get  the  hookinto 
the  brain,  and  you  will  grow.  In  D'Israeli's  "  Curiosi- 
ties of  Literature  "  there  is  an  invective  of  Lucian  upon 
those  men  who  boast  of  possessing  large  libraries,  which 
they  either  never  read  or  never  profit  by.  He  begins  by 
comparing  such  a  person  to  a  pilot  Avho  has  never  learned 
the  art  of  navigation,  or  a  cripple  who  wears  embroidered 


TO    WORKERS   AVITH   SLENDER    APPARATUS.         2S7 

slippers  but  cannot  stand  npriglit  in  them.  Then  ho 
exchiims,  ''  Why  do  you  buy  so  many  books  ?  You 
liave  no  hair,  and  you  purchase  a  comb  ;  you  are  blind, 
and  you  must  need  buy  a  fine  mirror ;  you  are  deaf,  and 
you  will  have  the  best  musical  instrument ! " — a  very 
well  deserved  rebuke  to  those  who  think  that  the  pos- 
session of  books  will  secure  them  learning.  A  measure 
of  that  temptation  happens  to  us  all ;  for  do  we  not  feel 
wiser  after  we  have  spent  an  hour  or  two  in  a  book- 
seller's shop  ?  A  man  might  as  well  think  himself 
richer  for  having  inspected  the  vaults  of  the  Bank  of 
England.  In  reading  books  let  your  motto  be,  "  Much, 
not  many."  Think  as  well  as  read,  and  keep  the  think- 
ing always  proportionate  to  the  reading,  and  your  small 
library  will  not  be  a  great  misfortune. 

There  is  very  much  sound  sense  in  the  remark  of  a 
writer  in  the  Quarterly  Revieiu  many  years  back.  "  Give 
us  the  one  dear  book,  cheaply  picked  from  the  stall  by 
the  price  of  the  dinner,  thumbed  and  dog-eared,  cracked 
in  the  back  and  broken  in  the  corner,  noted  on  the  fly- 
leaf and  scrawled  on  the  margin,  sullied  and  scorched, 
torn  and  Avorn,  smoothed  in  the  pocket  and  grimed  on 
the  hearth,  damped  by  the  grass  and  dusted  among  the 
cinders,  over  which  you  have  dreamed  in  the  grove  and 
dozed  before  the  embers,  but  read  again,  again,  and 
again,  from  cover  to  cover.  It  is  by  this  one  book,  and 
its  three  or  four  single  successors,  that  more  real  culti- 
vation has  been  imparted  than  by  all  the  myriads  Avhich 
bear  down  the  mile-long,  bulging,  bending  shelves  of 
the  Bodleian." 

But  if  you  feel  you  must  have  more  books,  I  recom- 
mend to  yoiL  a  Utile  judicious  horrowiug.  You  will  most 
likely  have  some  friends  who  have  books,  and  who  will 
be  kind  enou2rh  to  let  vou  use  them  for  a  time  ;  and  J 


288  LECTURES   TO    MY   STUDEXTS. 

specially  advise  you,  in  order  to  borrow  again,  to  return 
whatsoever  is  lent,  promptly,  and  in  good  condition.  I 
hope  there  is  not  so  much  need  that  I  should  say  much 
about  returning  books,  as  there  would  have  been  a  few 
months  ago,  for  I  have  lately  met  with  a  statement  by  a 
clergyman,  which  has  very  much  raised  my  opinion  of 
human  nature ;  for  he  declares  that  he  has  a  personal 
acquaintance  with  three  gentlemen  who  have  actually 
returned  borrowed  umbrellas  !  I  am  sorry  to  say  that 
he  moves  in  a  more  favored  circle  than  I  do,  for  I  have 
personal  acquaintance  with  several  young  men  who  have 
borrowed  books  and  never  returned  them.  The  other 
day,  a  certain  minister,  who  had  lent  me  five  books, 
which  I  have  used  for  two  years  or  more,  wrote  to  me  a 
note  to  request  the  return  of  three  of  them.  To  his  sur- 
prise, he  had  them  back  by  the  next  "  Parcels'  Delivery," 
and  two  others  which  he  had  forgotten.  I  had  carefully 
kept  a  list  of  books  borrowed,  and,  therefore,  could 
make  a  complete  return  to  the  owner.  I  am  sure  he  did 
not  expect  their  prompt  aiTival,  for  he  wrote  me  a  letter 
of  mingled  astonishment  and  gratitude,  and  when  I  visit 
his  study  again,  I  feel  sure  I  shall  be  welcome  to  another 
loan.  You  knoAv  the  rhyme  which  has  been  written  in 
many  a  man's  book — 

"If  thou  art  borrowed  by  a  friend, 
Kiglit  welcome  shall  he  be 
To  read,  to  study,  not  to  lend, 
But  to  return  to  me. 
Not  that  imparted  knowledge  doth 
Diminish  learning's  store, 
But  books  I  find  when  once  they're  lent. 
Return  to  me  no  more." 

Sir  Walter  Scott  used  to  say  that  his  friends  might  be 
very  indifferent  accountants,  but  he  was  sure  they  were 


TO    WORKERS    WITH   SLEXDER   APPARATUS.  289 

good  "bookkeepers."  Some  have  even  had  to  go  the 
length  of  the  scholar  who.  wlien  asked  to  lend  a  book, 
sent  word  by  the  servant  that  he  would  not  let  the  book 
go  Gilt  of  his  chamber,  but  that  the  gentleman  Avho 
sought  the  loan  might  come  and  sit  there  and  read  as 
long  as  he  liked.  The  rejoinder  was  unexpected  but 
complete,  when,  his  fire  being  slow  to  burn,  he  sent  to 
the  same  person  to  borrow  a  pair  of  bellows,  and  re- 
ceived for  answer  that  the  owner  would  not  lend  the 
bellows  out  of  his  own  chamber,  but  the  gentleman 
might  come  and  blow  there  as  long  as  he  liked.  Judi- 
cious borrowing  may  furnish  you  with  much  reading, 
but  remember  the  man's  axe-head  in  the  Scriptures,  and 
be  careful  of  what  you  borrow.  "  The  wicked  borrow- 
eth  and  payeth  not  again." 

In  case  the  famine  of  books  should  be  sore  in  the 
land,  there  is  one  hook  loliich  yon  all  have,  and  that  is 
your  Bible ;  and  a  minister  with  his  Bible  is  like  David 
with  his  sling  and  stone,  fully  equipped  for  the  fray. 
No  man  may  say  that  he  has  no  Avell  to  draAV  from  while 
the  Scriptures  arc  within  reach.  In  the  Bible  we  have 
a  i)erfect  library,  and  he  who  studies  it  thoroughly  will 
be  a  better  scholar  than  if  he  had  devoured  the  Alexan- 
drian Library  entire.  To  understand  the  Bible  should 
be  our  ambition ;  we  should  be  familiar  with  it,  as 
familiar  as  the  housewife  with  her  needle,  the  merchant 
with  his  ledger,  the  mariner  with  his  ship.  We  ought 
to  know  its  general  run,  the  contents  of  each  book,  the 
details  of  its  histories,  its  doctrines,  its  precepts,  and 
everything  about  it.  Erasmus,  speaking  of  Jerome, 
asks,  "  Who  but  he  ever  learned  by  heart  the  whole 
Scripture  ?  or  imbibed,  or  meditated  on  it  as  he  did  ?  " 
Ii  is  said  of  Witsius,  a  learned  Dutchman,  author  of  the 
famous  work  on  ''The  Covenants,"  that  he  was  also 
13 


290  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDENTS. 

able,  not  merely  to  repeat  every  word  of  Scripture  in 
the  original  tongues,  but  to  give  the  context,  and  the 
criticisms  of  the  best  authors ;  and  I  have  heard  of  an 
old  minister  in  Lancasliire,  that  he  was  "a  walking 
Concordance,"  and  could  either  give  you  chapter  and 
verse  for  any  passage  quoted,  or,  vice  versa,  could  cor- 
rectly give  the  Avords  when  the  place  was  mentioned. 
That  may  have  been  a  feat  of  memory,  but  the  study 
needful  to  it  must  have  been  highly  profitable.  I  do 
not  say  that  you  must  aspire  to  that ;  but  if  you  could, 
it  would  be  well  worth  the  gaining.  It  was  one  of  the 
fortes  of  tbat  singular  genius,  William  Huntington 
(whom  I  will  not  now  either  condemn  or  commend), 
that  in  preaching  he  incessantly  quoted  Holy  Scripture, 
and  was  accustomed,  Avhenever  he  did  so,  to  give  the 
chapter  and  the  verse  ;  and  in  order  to  show  his  inde- 
pendence of  the  printed  book,  it  was  his  uncomely 
habit  to  remove  the  Bible  from  the  front  of  the  pulpit. 

A  man  who  has  learned  not  merely  the  letter  of  the 
Bible,  but  its  inner  spirit,  will  be  no  mean  man,  what- 
ever the  deficiencies  he  may  labor  under.  You  know 
the  old  proverb,  "  Cave  ab  Jiomine  unius  libri " — Beware 
of  the  man  of  one  book.  He  is  a  terrible  antagonist.  A 
man  who  has  his  Bible  at  his  fingers'  ends  and  in  his 
heart's  core  is  a  champion  in  our  Israel ;  you  cannot 
compete  with  him  :  you  may  have  an  armory  of  weapons, 
but  his  Scriptural  knowledge  will  overcome  you  ;  for  it 
is  a  sword  like  that  of  Goliatli,  of  which  David  said, 
"There  is  none  like  it."  Tiie  gracious  William 
Eomaine,  I  believe,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  put 
away  all  his  books  and  read  nothing  at  all  but  his  Bible. 
He  was  a  scholarly  man,  yet  he  was  monopolized  by  the 
one  Book,  and  was  made  miglity  by  it.  If  we  are 
driven  to  do  the  same  by  necessity,  let  us  recollcet  that 


TO    WORKERS   WITH    SLENDER    APPARATUS.         291 

some  luivG  done  it  by  clioice,  and  let  us  not  bemoan  our 
lot,  for  the  Scriptures  will  be  sweeter  than  honey  to  our 
taste,  and  will  make  us  "wiser  than  the  ancients." 
AVe  shall  never  be  short  of  lioly  matter  if  wc  are  con- 
tinually studying  the  inspired  volume  ;  nay,  it  is  not 
only  matter  that  we  shall  find  there,  but  illustration 
too ;  for  the  Bible  is  its  own  best  illustrator.  If  you 
want  anecdote,  simile,  allegory,  or  parable,  turn  to  the 
sacred  page.  Scriptural  truth  never  looks  more  lovely 
than  when  slie  is  adorned  with  jewels  from  her  own 
treasury.  I  have  lately  been  reading  the  Books  of  tlie 
Kings  and  the  Chronicles,  and  I  have  become  enamored 
of  them  ;'  they  are  as  full  of  divine  instruction  as  tlie 
Psalms  or  Prophets,  if  read  with  opened  eyes.  I  think 
it  was  Ambrose  who  used  to  say,  "  I  adore  the  infinity 
of  Scripture."  I  hear  that  same  voice  which  sounded  in 
the  ear  of  Augustine,  concerning  the  Book  of  God, 
''  Talk,  lege'' — "  Take,  read."  It  may  be  you  will  dwell 
in  retirement  in  some  village,  where  you  will  find  no  one 
who  is  above  your  own  level,  and  where  you  will  meet 
Avith  very  few  books  worth  your  reading  ;  then  read  and 
meditate  in  the  law  of  the  Lord  both  day  and  night,  and 
you  shall  be  "as  a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers  of  water." 
Make  the  Bible  the  man  of  your  right  hand,  the  compan- 
ion of  every  hour,  and  you  will  have  little  reason  to 
lament  your  slender  equipment  in  inferior  things. 

I  would  earnestly  impress  upon  you  the  truth,  that  a 
man  who  is  short  of  apparatus  can  make  up  for  it  hy 
much  thoiiglit.  Thinking  is  better  than  possessing 
books.  Thinking  is  an  exercise  of  the  soul  which  both 
develops  and  educates  them.  A  little  girl  was  once 
asked  whether  she  knew  what  her  soul  was,  and,  to  tho 
surprise  of  all,  she  said,  "  Sir,  my  soul  is  my  think."  If 
this  be  correct,  some  persons  have  very    little    soul, 


293  LECTURES  TO   MY   STUDEXTS. 

Without  thinking,  reading  cannot  benefit  the  maid,  but 
it  may  dehide  the  man  into  the  idea  that  he  is  growing 
wise.  Books  are  a  sort  of  idol  to  some  men.  As  the 
image  with  the  Roman  Cathohc  is  intended  to  make  liim 
think  of  Christ,  and  in  effect  keeps  him  from  Christ,  so 
books  are  intended  to  make  men  think,  but  are  oftoii  a 
hindrance  to  thought.  When  George  Fox  took  a  sharp 
knife  and  cut  out  for  himself  a  pair  of  leather  breeches, 
and,  liaviug  done  with  the  fashions  of  society,  hid  hhnself 
in  a  hollow  tree,  to  think  by  the  month  together,  he  was 
growing  into  a  man  of  thought  before  whom  men  of 
thought  speedily  beat  a  retreat.  What  a  flutter  he 
made,  not  only  among  the  Poperies,  and  Prelacies,  and 
Presbyteries  of  his  day,  but  also  among  the  well-read 
j)roprieties  of  Dissent.  He  swept  no  end  of  cobwebs  out 
of  the  sky,  and  gave  the  bookworms  a  hard  time  of  it. 
Thought  is  the  backbone  of  study,  and  if  more  ministers 
would  think,  what  a  blessing  it  would  be  !  Only,  we  want 
men  who  will  think  about  the  revealed  will  of  God,  and 
not  dreamers  who  evolve  religious  out  their  own  con- 
sciousness. Now-a-days  we  are  pestered  with  a  set  of 
fellows  who  must  needs  stand  on  their  heads  and  think 
with  their  feet.  Eomancing  is  their  notion  of  medi- 
tation. Instead  of  considering  revealed  truth,  they 
excogitate  a  mess  of  their  own,  in  which  error,  and 
nonsense,  and  conceit  appear  in  about  equal  parts  ;  and 
they  call  this  broth  "  modern  thought."  We  want  men 
who  will  try  to  think  straight,  and  yet  tliink  deep, 
because  they  think  God's  thoughts.  Far  be  it  from  me 
to  urge  you  to  imitate  the  boastful  thinkers  of  this  age, 
who  empty  their  meeting-houses,  and  then  glory  tluit 
they  preach  to  the  cultivated  and  intellectual.  It  is 
miserable  cant.  Earnest  thought  upon  things  which  are 
assuredly  believed   among  us  is  quite  another  matter. 


TO   WORKERS  WITU   SLEXDEU  APPARATUS.         293 

and  to  til  at  I  urge  you.  Personally  I  owe  much  to  many 
hours,  and  even  days,  spent  alone,  under  an  old  oak- 
tree,  by  the  river  Medway.  Happening  to  be  someAvhat 
indisposed  at  the  time  when  I  Avas  leaving  school,  I  was 
allowed  considerable  leisure,  and,  armed  Avitli  an  excel- 
lent fishing-rod,  I  caught  a  fcAV  small  fishes,  and  en- 
joyed many  day-dreams,  intermingled  with  searchings  of 
heart,  and  much  ruminating  of  knoAvledge  acquired. 
If  boys  would  think,  it  Avould  be  well  to  give  them  less 
class  Avork  and  more  opportunity  for  thought.  All  cram 
and  no  digestion  makes  flesh  destitute  of  muscle,  and 
this  is  more  deplorable  mentally  than  physically.  If 
your  people  are  not  numerous  enough  to  supply  you 
with  a  library,  they  will  make  fcAver  demands  on  your 
time,  and,  in  having  time  for  meditation,  you  will  be 
even  better  off  than  your  brethren  Avith  many  books  and 
little  space  for  contemplation. 

Without  books  a  man  may  learn  much  hy  keeping  Ids 
eyes  open.  Current  history,  incidents  which  transpire 
under  his  own  nose,  events  recorded  in  the  newspaper, 
matters  of  common  talk — he  may  learn  from  them  all. 
The  difference  between  eyes  and  no  eyes  is  wonderful. 
If  you  have  no  books  to  try  your  eyes,  keep  them  open 
Avherever  you  go,  and  you  will  find  something  worth 
looking  at.  Can  you  not  learn  from  nature  ?  Every 
floAver  is  waiting  to  teach  you.  "  Consider  the  lilies," 
and  learn  from  the  roses.  Not  only  may  you  go  to  the 
ant,  but  every  liAring  thing  offers  itself  for  your  instruc- 
tion. There  is  a  voice  in  every  gale,  and  a  lesson  in 
every  grain  of  dust  it  bears.  Sermons  glisten  in  the 
morning  on  every  blade  of  grass,  and  homilies  fly  by  you 
as  the  sere  leaves  fall  from  the  trees.  A  forest  is  a 
library,  a  corn-field  is  a  volume  of  philosophy,  the  rock 
is  a  history,  and  the  river  at  its  base  a  poem.     Go,  thou 


294  LECTURES   'JO    MY    STUDEXTS. 

wlio  hast  thine  eyes  opened,  and  find  lessons  of  wisdom 
everywhere,  in  heaven  above,  in  the  earth  beneath,  and 
in  the  waters  under  the  earth.  Books  are  poor  things 
compared  with  these. 

Moreover,  however  scant  your  libraries,  you  can 
study  yourself.  This  is  a  mysterious  volume,  the  major 
jtart  of  which  you  have  not  read.  If  any  man  thinks 
that  he  knoAvs  himself  thoroughly,  he  deceives  himself  ; 
for  the  most  difficult  book  you  will  ever  read  is  your 
oAvii  heart.  I  said  to  a  doubter  the  other  day,  Avho 
seemed  to  be  wandering  in  a  maze,  "'  Well,  really  I  can- 
not understand  you  ;  but  1  am  not  vexed,  for  .1  never 
could  understand  myself;"  and  1  certainly  meant  what 
I  said.  Watch  the  twists  and  turns  and  singularities  of 
your  own  mind,  and  the  strangeness  of  your  own  experi- 
ence ;  the  depravity  of  your  heart,  and  the  work  of 
divine  grace ;  your  tendency  to  sin,  and  your  capacity 
for  holiness  ;  how  akin  you  are  to  a  devil,  and  yet  how 
allied  to  God  himself  !  Note  how  Avisely  you  can  act 
when  taught  of  God,  and  how  foolishly  you  behave  when 
left  to  yourself.  You  will  find  the  study  of  your  heart 
to  be  of  immense  importance  to  you  as  a  watcher  over 
the  souls  of  others.  A  man's  own  experience  should  be 
to  him  the  laboratory  in  Avhich  he  tests  the  medicines 
which  he  prescribes  for  others.  Even  your  own  faults 
and  failures  will  instruct  you  if  you  bring  them  to  the 
Lord.  Absolutely  sinless  men  would  be  unable  to  sym- 
pathize with  imperfect  men  and  women.  Study  the 
Lord's  dealings  with  your  own  souls,  and  you  will  know 
more  of  his  ways  with  others. 

Bead  other  men ;  they  are  as  instructive  as  books. 
Suppose  there  should  come  up  to  one  of  our  great  hos- 
pitals a  young  student  so  poor  that  he  could  not  pur- 
chase surgical  books  ;  it  would  certainly  be  a  great  detri- 


TO    WUllKERS    WITH    SLENDER    APPARATUS.  295 

nieut  to  liim  ;  but  if  he  had  the  run  of  the  hospital,  if 
lio  saw  operations  performed,  and  watched  cases  from 
day  to  day,  I  should  not  wonder  but  what  he  might  turn 
out  as  skilful  a  surgeon  as  his  more  favored  companions. 
His  observation  would  show  him  what  books  alone  could 
not ;  and  as  he  stood  by  to  sec  the  removal  of  a  limb, 
the  binding  up  of  a  wound,  or  the  tying  up  of  an  artery, 
he  might,  at  any  rate,  pick  up  enough  practical  surgery 
to  be  of  immense  service  to  him.  Now,  much  that  a 
minister  needs  to  know  he  must  learn  by  actual  observa- 
tion. All  wise  pastors  have  walked  the  hospitals  spirit- 
ually, and  dealt  with  inquirers,  hypocrites,  backsliders, 
the  desj^airing,  and  the  presumptuous.  A  man  who  has 
had  a  sound  practical  experience  in  the  things  of  God 
himself,  and  watched  the  hearts  of  his  fellows,  other 
things  being  equal,  will  be  a  far  more  useful  man  than 
he  who  knows  only  what  he  has  read.  It  is  a  great  pity 
for  a  man  to  be  a  college  Jack-a-dandy,  avIio  comes  out 
of  the  class-room  as  out  of  a  band-box,  into  a  world  he 
has  never  seen  before,  to  deal  Avith  men  he  has  never 
observed,  and  handle  facts  with  Avhicli  he  has  never 
come  into  personal  contact.  "Not  a  novice,"  says  the 
apostle  ;  and  it  is  possible  to  be  a  novice  and  yet  a  very 
accomplished  scholar,  a  classic,  a  mathematician,  and  a 
theoretical  theologian.  We  should  have  practical  famil- 
iarity with  men's  souls  ;  and  if  we  have  much  of  it,  the 
fewness  of  our  books  will  be  a  light  atfliction.  "  But," 
says  an  inquiring  brother,  "  how  can  you  read  a  man  ?  " 
I  have  heard  of  a  gentleman  of  whom  it  was  said  that 
you  could  never  stop  five  minutes  under  an  archway  with 
him  but  Avhat  he  would  teach  you  something.  That  was 
a  wise  man ;  but  he  Avould  be  a  wiser  man  still  who 
would  never  stop  five  minutes  under  an  archway  with- 
out learning  somewhat  from  ot'ier  people.     Wise  men- 


296  LECTURES   TO    MY    STUDENTS. 

can  learn  as  much  from  a  fool  as  from  a  philosopher. 
A  fool  is  a  splendid  book  to  read  from,  because  every 
leaf  is  open  before  you  ;  there  is  a  dasli  of  the  comic 
in  the  style,  which  entices  you  to  read  on,  and  if  you 
gather  nothing  else,  you  are  warned  not  to  publish  your 
own  folly. 

Learn  from  experienced  saints.  What  deep  things 
Bomc  of  them  can  teach  to  us  younger  men  !  What  in- 
stances God's  poor  people  can  narrate  of  the  Lord's 
providential  appearances  for  them  ;  how  they  glory  in 
his  upholding  grace  and  his  faithfulness  to  his  covenant ! 
What  fresh  light  they  often  shed  upon  the  promises, 
revealing  meanings  hidden  from  the  carnally  wise,  but 
made  clear  to  simple  hearts  !  Know  you  not  that  many 
of  the  promises  are  written  with  invisible  ink,  and  must 
be  held  to  the  fire  of  affliction  before  the  letters  will 
show  themselves  ?  Tried  spirits  are  grand  instructors 
for  ministers. 

As  for  the  inquirer,  hoiv  much  is  to  he  gathered  from 
him  !  I  have  seen  very  much  of  my  own  stupidity  Avhile 
in  conversation  with  seeking  souls.  I  have  been  baffled 
by  a  poor  lad  while  trying  to  bring  him  to  the  Saviour  ; 
I  thought  I  had  him  fast,  but  he  has  eluded  me  again 
and  again  with  perverse  ingenuity  of  unbelief.  Some- 
times inquirers  who  arc  really  anxious  surprise  me  with 
their  singular  skill  in  battling  against  hope  ;  their  argu- 
ments are  endless  and  their  difficulties  countless.  They 
put  us  to  a  non  phis  again  and  again.  The  grace  of  God 
at  last  enables  us  to  bring  them  to  the  light,  but  not 
until  we  have  seen  our  own  inefficiency.  In  the  strange 
perversities  of  unbelief,  the  singular  constructions  and 
misconstructions  which  the  desponding  put  upon  their 
feelings  and  upon  scriptural  statements,  you  will  often 
find  a  world  of  instruction.     I  would  sooner  give  a  young 


TO    WORKKItS    U'lTlI    .SLEXDKR    APPARATUS.  297 

man  an  hour  with  inquirers  and  the  mentally  depresscrl 
tlian  a  week  in  the  best  of  our  classes,  so  fai'  as  practical 
training  for  the  pastorate  is  concerned. 

Once  more,  he  much  at  dcaili-hcds ;  they  arc  illu- 
minated books.  There  shall  you  read  the  very  poetry 
of  our  religion,  and  learn  the  secrets  thereof.  What 
splendid  gems  are  washed  up  by  the  Avaves  of  Jordan  ! 
Wliat  fair  llowers  groAV  on  its  banks  !  The  everlasting 
fountains  in  the  glory-land  throw  their  spray  aloft,  and 
the  dew-drops  fall  on  this  side  the  narroAv  stream  !  I 
have  heard  humble  men  and  women,  in  their  departing 
hours,  talk  as  though  they  were  inspired,  uttering 
strange  Avords,  aglow  with  supernal  glory.  These  they 
learned  from  no  lips  beneath  the  moon  ;  tliey  must  have 
heard  them  Avhile  sitting  in  the  suburbs  of  the  Ncav 
Jerusalem.  God  Avhispers  them  in  their  ears  amid  their 
pain  and  weakness  ;  and  then  they  tell  us  a  little  of 
what  the  Spirit  has  revealed.  I  Avill  jiart  Avitli  all  my 
books,  if  I  may  see  the  Lord's  Elijahs  mount  theit 
chariots  of  fire. 

Is  not  this  enough  upon  our  subject  ?  If  you  desire 
more,  it  is  time  I  remember  the  sage  sapng,  that  it  ia 
octtcr  to  send  aAvay  an  audience  longing  than  loathing  ; 
and,  therefore,  Adieu  I 


Date  Due 


'"  "^  i!-'* 


